Parts of Her Heart
by DualityOfSoul
Summary: - On Hiatus -
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **I want to take this time to thanks my betas **Aimee1985 **and** slcurwin**. With out you girls this would have been a real mess. Thanks for your support and kind words. You guys are amazing!

This is my first story in two years so I'm a little rusty. Please, be **brutal** when you guys are letting me know your thoughts on it! Which you can do in a review, PM or at tweeter where I am 24/7. You can find me there under **PrincessVegeta**.

**Warning**: underage sex; adultery; violence; slash; fluff and lemons. Also the story pre- Great Revelation; **AU**.

**Disclaimer**: All of this belong to Charlain Harris, Allan Ball and HBO. No profit is being made of this. Please don't sue I'm two step from being completely broke!And now Enjoy!

This is a re-post. All mistakes are now fix thanks to my super-wonderfull beta team! Send some love their way!

And now Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

"You two did what?" screamed Sookie at her companions. "How could you? Did you have any idea of what you had done to me?"

"We are so sorry, Sookie. It wasn't meant to be this way. It wasn't what we meant to do." Cried Tara.

"Yeah, we never meant to hurt you."

"Just turned me into a fucking whore. Literally, it seems."

"It wasn't like that, Sookie." Marianne interrupted her. "We actually thought we were helping you."

"How in sweet baby Jesus' name did this help me? Do you guys have any idea how I have felt since coming home? I can barely stand to looked at myself. I slept with men I didn't even know, besides their name -and by the way one of them now hates my guts. How was this supposed to help me?"

"Listen to us, Sookie." Pleaded Tara, mopping her face with a tissue. Her eyes and her nose were red rimmed; her dark brown hair, usually impeccable, was looking dishevelled. She did not handle herself well under stress. "That potion wasn't supposed to affect you like it did. That was our fault. We didn't communicate right, you see? So we gave you too much."

"Glad we cleared that up." Sookie said sarcastically. "Can you guys tell me why? Why on earth did you do it?" she didn't cry though part of her wanted to. She had cried herself dry since returning to Bon Temps and was sure she had no more tears in her.

"Look, Sookie," started Marianne. "You said you wanted an adventure. You said you wanted to experience romance. You wanted to feel like a normal woman for once in your life. That was the whole point of this trip. We were going to go to some place where no one knew us, where we could do as we please. Let our hair down and have some fun!"

Sookie nodded but kept silent. They had just graduated from high school and decided to go out of the country to celebrate the new start in their lives. It was meant to be their first adventure as adult women, a kind of bridge between what has been and what would be. They were, in fact, going their separate ways once September comes. Marianne for one was moving to New Orleans to live with her mother and though both Tara and Sookie were remaining in Bon Temps, Tara already had plans to attend Shreveport Community College while Sookie was going to look for a job. No college in her future.

They had been planning the trip since they entered High School; it had been fourteen year old Tara's idea but four years of planning and saving hadn't gotten them enough money to go to France, Italy or Greece like they had originally wanted. They had instead chosen to go to a remote Bed and Breakfast in Öland for three weeks.

Sookie had loved it. The village they had been staying in was small, and quaint. Not that much different to Bon Temps and the people in the village had been nice, even though they had to communicate through dictionaries and signs for the most part. The climate, though considerably colder and windier than what she was a costumed to, hadn't been uncomfortable. They hadn't found any night clubs or discos close by, much to Tara and Marianne's displeasure. Though even their adventure seeking spirits had been satisfied with their overall experience. Or so Sookie had thought.

"You never date." Continued Tara in a more subdued tone of voice, "You always say it's because the boys here think you are crazy."

"It's the truth." She said defensibly. And it was, just not the entire truth. There was no point in telling her friends that the reason she didn't date wasn't so much that the boys called her crazy but rather that she could hear their thoughts. No point really in reminding her friends that she had a problem. That she was cursed.

"Yes." Agreed Marianne; sitting down next to Tara on the sofa in her living room. Now that Sookie had calmed down somewhat and was letting them explain Marianne was taking advantage to get everything out before it got worse again. "Do you remember the first time we went to that bar in the village? When that really hot guy hit on you?" Sookie frowned at her friend and crossed her arms. She hadn't wanted to go to that bar. She had been scared out of her mind. At 17, she was the youngest of their group. And still a few weeks short of coming of age. Her ID had been a fake one that Tara had given her and she had been too scared someone was going to realized that and kick her out of the bar. "He was hot. Probably the most amazing, most handsome man I've ever seen. And he had eyes only for you." She didn't say it in a bitter tone though at the time she had been jealous of all the attention Sookie was getting. "But what did you do? Did you flirt with him? Dance with him? No, you did not. Tara, what did Sookie here do?" she asked turning her face sideways to watch the brunet.

"She ran away." She gave Sookie and apologetic look but continued, "We knew then that you were not going to loosen up. We had to do something or you were going to end up staying inside the room at the bed and breakfast for the whole three weeks."

"And turning me into a nymphomaniac was your answer?" she walked to the window to stare out onto Marianne's lawn, giving her back to her friends. She could hear from their minds how sorry they were that she had been hurt. But both of them still thought they had been right with what they did for her, they knew she wouldn't let her inhibitions go and just enjoy their time away from everything back home. They only wanted her to have fun and not to think too hard about anything she was doing.

"Just listen to us. We didn't mean to do that. The potion we gave you, it was meant to lower your inhibitions. Sure, one side effect was an increased libido but it could hardly make you a nymphomaniac."

"But it did!" she said turning around again, this time facing the other girls. "I slept with a guy I had met a handful of times. And it was my first time too!" that was one of the things that burned her the most. She had given her virginity to a guy she was not going to see again. A man, who at that moment hated her. "I posed naked for an entire collection of paintings." She hadn't slept with the artist though part of her had been tempted. She hadn't realized that part was thanks to the potion, at the time she had been very disturbed because the artist had been a woman. Not much older than her seventeen years. "And slept with the artist's brother three hours after I met him. And not that much longer after John told me how much I disgusted him."

"It wasn't supposed to make you act that way Sookie."

"Then why did it?" but she had their answer from their brains. They didn't speak to each other about how they were going to give her the potion. So they had both been giving it to her at the same time. More than what was required. They had overdosed her with it. "You could have killed me! You two had no idea what you were doing! Are you both crazy?"

"It couldn't have killed you." Marianne said with surprising dignity. Tara was crying again. "The old woman who gave it to us said it was perfectly safe for humans."

"Yes, she said it only causes side effects with anything other than human beings. She even asked us various time's if you were completely human or not."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I think she thought Sookie was a dog name or something."

"Gee, thanks."

"Look, Sookie. We are sorry. It was a mistake and it won't happen again."

"You guys are unbelievable." Said Sookie before grabbing her clutch bag and going to the bathroom slamming the door shut behind her.

"She hates us." Cried Tara again.

"She does not." Marianne comforted her. "This is Sookie we are talking about. She has stewed for a while but now she is going to forgive us, because that's how this works. We messed up sure but she will realize how sorry we are and we didn't mean her any harm."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, now she has calmed down and came here to speak to us she is going to see the bright side of this. She slept with two of the most beautiful men in the world. I mean, take John, he was so sexy and exotic looking. With his purple eyes and great physic; and then take the Swedish God. He could easily be a Viking. And if he was half as good in bed as he looked he is every girl's wet dream. And no harm done."

"You are right. It's not like she's going to see any of them again. And as long as they hadn't been sick with something contagious or something, what's the worse that she could take from this?"

"That's the spirit."

Sookie looked at the two pink colored stripes and felt her chest tighten. For a moment she couldn't remember where she was or what she was doing. Then everything came crashing down on her again.

As she moved away from the toilet, she had to concentrate on moving one foot in front of the other. She walked towards the sink, put down the small pregnancy test that gave her the news and washed her hands. Then she just looked at her reflection. She looked pale and her eyes huge. They were red rimmed and filled with tears. She blinked a few times and willed the tears away. She would not cry. She wasn't sure what the hell she was supposed to do now, but at the moment she was doing her best not to cry. Everything would be all right, as long as she didn't cry.

"Damn it. Oh God. Oh Jesus." For the moment she could only breathe. Then she started to shake. "This can't be happening. This just can't." she murmured to herself. Looking down at the small piece of plastic, she let a dry sob escape her. There was no mistake. She was pregnant. And for the life of her she didn't know who the father was.

"Sookie, did the toilet swallow you up girl?" the voice was accompanied with a knock on the door, and then she heard it open. "What's up?" asked Tara in a soft watery voice, entering the bathroom and walking to her friend. Their friendship wasn't what it used to be before their trip to Öland, but at least they were speaking again. Sookie had refused to talk to her or Marianne in the last few days of their trip and had in fact avoided both girls for a month after they returned home. Until today when she agreed to go to Marianne's house to find out why her friends would do what they did. "Are you ok?"

"I'm pregnant, Tara." She said it quietly taking the pregnancy test and giving it to her childhood friend.

"Oh my God. Sookie are you sure?" she looked at the test and was overcome with nausea. "Do you know who the father is?"

Sookie just looked at her blankly for a moment then seemed to draw herself back and took the pregnancy test from her best friend's hands. "I don't know Tara. See I slept with more than one guy at the same time. My bad." She left Tara looking like she had been slapped and walked away. She hoped her friends at least realized what their childish actions have cost her. Either way she left Marianne's house with her head held high.

* * *

><p><em>Five months later<em>

"I invited Jason to dinner tonight." That was Adele greeting her when she entered the kitchen with her hands filled with grocery bags.

Sookie stiffened for a moment then deliberately relaxed. She had been laying down on the couch reading a romance novel, but sat up when she heard her grandmother entering the house. She hadn't spoken with her brother since she told him she was pregnant and was keeping the baby. That had been four months ago.

"I can get out of the house for a few hours if you want me to." She offered her grandmother. She knew how hard it was for Adele not to have Jason show up at her house anymore. But he had been clear in his feelings for Sookie and had kept his word. As long as their grandmother allowed Sookie and the bastard she was carrying to remain in the house he would not be going there.

"Don't be an idiot now, darling." Chided her grandmother gently, putting all the groceries in their respective places. "I'm not kicking you out of your home because Jason is acting like a jackass. He can come if he wants to or not. But this is your home and that's not going to change."

Sookie was really grateful for the support from gran, but she was aware of how much it was costing her. As it were, Adele had resigned from her gardening and reading book clubs. She didn't get together with all of her friends like she used to do and when she did, more often than not she returned home too soon and too mad to talk.

Sookie was aware of how people in a small town like Bon Temps looked at single mothers. And the fact that she couldn't name the father of the baby was just another strike against her. She had been prepared for all the attacks that she knew were going to come at her once she decided to keep her baby. And though it really hurt her when Jason had given her his back she hadn't been, at the heart of it, surprised by his action. It hadn't been the first time her brother had abandoned her when she needed his support the most. What she hadn't thought about was having her grandmother hurt by others. She hadn't really thought how people whom had known her grandmother for years would turn against her. Would blame her for Sookie's situation and would make her ashamed.

There was only one thing Jason had said when he found out about the baby that Sookie agreed with. She had shamed the family. And even though her grandmother would cut out her own tongue before she said aloud, Sookie knew she was ashamed of her. Of her actions. Her choices.

"You know, Sookie. Jason is really sorry about his actions." Said Adele a short time later coming into the living room with a glass of lemonade in her hand. She handed the drink to her granddaughter and sat in a loveseat in front of her. "He misses you."

Sookie could tell that her grandmother really believed that. She was hoping Jason would apologize for his harsh words to Sookie and that they would be a family again. She was thinking how much it hurts her not hearing anything from Hadley, and it would kill her if she had to go through something similar now with Jason and Sookie.

The blond young woman just took a sip from her lemonade to stop herself from answering her grandmother's thoughts.

"Would you give him a chance, at least, darling?"

"Sure Gran," she said smiling at her. It wasn't her signature crazy Sookie smile, but a dimmed version of it. "As long as he doesn't start on my baby, I'll behave."

"Thank you, darling. Now, why don't you go lie down for a little bit? You'll need your strength for the baby and you're looking a bit peaked, honey." Adele told her worriedly, her granddaughter looked way to pale for her liking and seemed to be losing weight instead of gaining.

"Not to worry, Gran. The baby is just active is all."

"Still, up to bed with you young lady. Try to sleep for a while; I'll wake you up later on."

Nodding at her grandmother and still drinking lemonade she went to her bedroom. Once inside the room she closed the door and locked it. Better if her grandmother thought her asleep and left her alone for a few hours. She had some research to do.

There was a desk beside the window full of books. Most of them were about babies and children in general. There were some mystery and romance books on it for her entertainment. And almost hidden underneath all of the books, was her research project. The subject of her fascination for almost as long as she had been pregnant.

Vampires.

It wasn't fiction books, though she had read a few romances with that theme. These were supposed to be non-fiction books exploring the undead. So far she hadn't encountered anything that either dissuaded her that they didn't exist or prove their existence. None of the books seemed to agree on a single point beyond the fact that the vampires need to drink blood to survive.

Some claim that sunlight was lethal to vampires; others said it was a weakness given to them through fiction so humans could feel like they had a sporting chance. Some say they looked like they used to when they were alive, others claimed they looked like zombies, and were in fact just another form of those. Some say vampires did exist; that they live and move alongside human kind and had done since the beginning of time. Others, claimed that the closest thing to real vampires were humans suffering from _Renfield syndrome_.

As for her, she wasn't sure what to think. She wasn't sure if she wanted to explore the option that she had slept with a crazy guy that got off on drinking blood from her or the fact that she might have slept with a honest to God, vampire. She might even be carrying his child.

Sookie hadn't told either Tara or Marianne about Eric's action. When he drank from her, while they were having sex, it hadn't seemed like a big deal. At the time the potion running through her veins had made her more interested in the sex itself rather than what was happening around her. And truthfully having him drinking from her had been spectacular. It had been later on, when he had looked at her dead in the eyes and told her quite clearly that they only had sex, that he hadn't bit her, that she hadn't seen his fangs and that he hadn't drank her blood; that scared her. Because for a moment, she could have sworn she felt him in her mind, like a pull. A force. She had wanted to believe him, and in fact acted like she did.

But as strange as that had seemed, as much as that had shaken her, what made her tip the scale towards him being a real vampire was the fact that his skin glowed, and she also couldn't hear his thoughts.

He had been a complete blank to her. A void, where there should have not been a void.

And that possibility pushed her all the more to find out what the hell he was. Because she was sure, that the Viking God who had given her more orgasms in one night than John, her previous and only other, lover had done in the two weeks they were together, was no more human than the child she carrying inside of her.

And she didn't know what to do.

* * *

><p>Sookie stood in front of her father's tomb and sighed. It was a moonless night and the darkness was heavy around her. Besides the sound of insects in the cemetery, there was blessed silence. Dinner had gone well. Jason had showed up much to her grandmother's delight. And though he had not apologized to Sookie for his actions and comments, he had not said anything bad about Sookie or the baby. As long as he kept it that way, she would gladly keep the peace.<p>

Jason had gone as far as to invite Sookie to a BBQ that his best friend Hoyt was throwing that next Saturday. Since he had acted for months like he had no sister, being willing to take her now to one of his friend's parties, was more of an apology than words would ever be to her.

Still, having Jason back, as good as that was, had only taken care of half of her worries. Her fears about her baby and the possible nature of the father were never far from her mind. She hadn't so far started craving blood, for which she was grateful. If Eric was indeed a real vampire, that trait had not passed over her child. So far. What she had read about demi-vampires claimed that the child could survive on human's food. Then again, most of the information she had on demi-vampires had come from fiction books so they weren't reliable.

She had not, however, discounted the fact that there was a possibility that the father of her child wasn't Eric but the only other man she had taken as a lover. John. Who had been so cruel to her the last time they saw each other.

Sookie hadn't been able to read his thoughts like other people. In fact the only thing she could get clear from him was his emotions. His thoughts, though she could read them if she made more of an effort, came with a slight buzz that caused an interference. She had only encountered something like that with the Hotshot people. And finding a man that was so difficult to read had been a nice respite for her curse. That was of course, before she met Pam, the artist, or her older brother Eric. She couldn't read any of them.

Though it hurt her to think of the last encounter she had with John. She couldn't in good conscience blame him for his actions. He had been the perfect gentleman every time they meet. Though he was obviously a man of the world, he had been patient with her, with her naïveté. He hadn't been open about his life, but of the little she knew of him she could perceive a deep respect for women. That had been their downfall in the end.

When he found out that Sookie was still underage he had gone berserk. He had accused her of all kinds of stuff and called her a few names, but Sookie had been able to glimpse a bit from his mind to realize that he was disgusted mostly with himself. Though Sookie was past the age of consent, the fact that she was still a teenager had made him felt like he took advantage of her. Despite the fact that she had thrown herself at him, he was convinced he had raped her. Technical rape, to him was still raped. And that seemed to stroke a deep chord within him.

However things had ended up with John, he was human. That she was sure of. Except for the difficulties of reading his mind and his high body temperature, he had shown no more signs of being any different than her. This made her tip the balance on Eric being the father. He obviously was not human. She just wasn't sure what the hell he was.

"I don't know what to do Dad." she said to the tombstone, sitting beside it on the floor. "I know what I know, which at this point is nothing at all. My baby is not normal. And I'm scared out of my mind because of that. Was this how you and mom felt when you were expecting me? Did you somehow know of my curse? That I was different?" she sighed and put her hand on her swollen stomach. She could feel her baby moving inside of her. "What I'm supposed to do when the baby is born? Or years later when he or she asks me about their father?" that was another of her fears. She could get away with refusing to name the father to everyone else who asked, and had already done so. It hadn't been anyone's business but her own anyway. But her child had all the right in the world to ask and deserve the truth from her. However, unless the baby was born with violet eyes or a pair of fangs, she had no idea of what to say. "Will you send me a sign Dad? Will you tell me what to do?" silence was her only answer. "Didn't think so but it was worth a try."

She kissed the tip of her fingers and passed them over her father's name on the tombstone. Then she stood up, with her arms wrapped around herself she made her way back to her home. With only her baby for company.

* * *

><p>"Come on, Sookie you have to sit down." since it was the first show of care coming from her brother since she told him she was pregnant Sookie allowed him to pull her over to sit in a chair. The fact that she had only gone from Jason's truck to Hoyt's backyard was lost somewhere.<p>

So far people had shouted her name when she entered with Jason and had waved to her in greeting. She had her shields up full force, and the only stray thoughts she had picked up on were food related, for which she gave eternal thanks to God.

Though she would have rather stayed at her home, her grandmother had put her foot down and practically throw her out of the house for the day. She had to admit that Adele had been right in forcing her to go. For once, spending time with her brother when he was trying so hard to be good to her was nice. Also she had missed being around people. Not only because it helped her with her telepathy, but because she was as sociable as Jason. She needed to be around people every bit as much as her brother did.

"Hey, Sookie." Hoyt called to her, waving from his place at the barbecue. "Glad you could make it." She smiled at him and waved back.

"Well, well, well. Look who decided to join us poor mortals." Sookie turned around to see that the cold cutting voice belonged to Dawn. The brunet and Sookie had never really gotten along. Dawn was a believer – which means she fully believes that Sookie was capable of reading minds. -and as such she avoided Sookie as much as she could. This time was no different since she had been talking to Jason, not to her.

"Hi, Dawn." Jason replied and because he was still touching Sookie she could hear Jason was desperate to get as far away from Dawn as he could get. Apparently their last hook up hadn't really worked out. At that, Sookie got away from his mind as fast as she could. She had zero interest in learning the particulars.

Taking pity in her brother, Sookie smiled at Dawn. "Hello, there. How have you been?"

Dawn looked for the first time at the blond, and Sookie didn't need to be a telepath to hear her thoughts since they were written all over her face. "Well, I heard the rumors of course, but I didn't believe them." there was a cruel smile on her lips and Sookie knew she was about to pay for whatever Jason had done to Dawn. "Tell me; is it true the other part of the rumors? You don't even know who the father of that thing is?"

"That thing is my nephew or niece, Dawn." said Jason before Sookie could defend herself. "Take care with what you say." turning to Sookie he helped her stand up from the chair he had forced on her. "I see Mel over there. I think you'll want to meet him."

"Jason if this is your lame attempt at matchmaking…" he laughed like she meant it. She couldn't thank him for defending her. That only would embarrass him and her. But she was glad he had, that more than anything made her forgive him for his past action about the baby.

"Nah, he's married. But his wife ain't here."

Mel Hart turned out to be from Hotshot. He was young, 23 or 24 years old. He had shaggy brown hair and a pleasant face. There was something in him that remind her of Jason, which Sookie supposed was what draw them towards each other. He was also hard to read, something that made her pay him far more attention now than she would have done had she met him six months ago.

"Now Mel, you take care of my sister. I'm going to give Hoyt a hand." He said after introductions were complete. Jason was big on gadgets and machines and he had been dying to try Hoyt's new barbecue since his friend bought it. Giving Sookie one last glance to make sure she was ok, he left.

There was silence between them and it was awkward. Despite the fact that Hotshot's kids were treated as outsiders in school almost as much as she had been, for some reason Sookie had never struck a friendship with any of them. She had been lucky to have Marianne and Tara, with both of them coming from difficult households as well, and the Hotshot kids had found comfort in their own numbers. She may have wanted at one point to befriend them, especially when she found out how difficult to read there were, but they had obviously felt about her what other kids in school had. Never having been a masochist, she had left them alone.

Now though, she wasn't the only one curious. Mel, who had been cordial while Jason had been there, was looking at her not only with curiosity but a bit of hostility as well.

"Are you ok?" Sookie asked him. His actions and his mood, -which she could feel like it was her own- where becoming fascinating. Mel just looked at her and took one step closer, until they were face to face. Then, he sniffed around her neck. Stupefied, Sookie took one step back and pushed her hands against his hard chest to make him step away from her. She couldn't move him one inch. "What the hell is your problem?"

"What kind of were are you?" he growled at her.

"I have no idea of what you are talking about." she said still with her hands in his chest. His t- shirt was so thin it was like she was touching his skin. Thanks to that his thoughts came clear to her, like he was another normal human, instead of another thing entirely. "You turn into a panther? For real?" thankfully the surprise had robbed her of air, so instead of shouting it she only murmured.

It was enough to make him blanch and step away from her. He looked at her with chagrin then left her standing by herself. Sookie would have called him back, had Jason not came at that moment ready for blood having witnessed the last part of their encounter.

"What the hell happed?" Jason took Sookie by her shoulders and turned her to him so he could examine her quickly. "What was his problem?"

Shaken still for what she found out, she could only shrug. Taking a deep breath she stepped away from Jason. "I answered something that he didn't ask. It spooked him a little." it was the truth more or less. She just left out the first part. When he accused her of being a were. Like him.

"Aww, Sookie. Did you have to?" he was embarrassed now.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I'll apologize next time I see him. I promise." he just nodded and took her hand.

"Come on, let's go and find you a seat. You have to get off of your feet."

She didn't bother to protest. Jason was trying and that was enough.

* * *

><p>Sookie walked into the shop like she knew where she was going. The auto parts store, which was the only one in Bon Temps, belongs to her friend JB du Rone's father. JB himself worked there on and off; every time he managed to get himself fired from another job.<p>

That day she wasn't looking for JB though, but another employee. She found him where she had been told he would be, in the employee lounge where they all take their breaks. She was glad he was alone, because she was pretty sure that they need privacy.

Mel was surprised to see Sookie, but she could tell by his face and his mood that he had been expecting her to seek him out sooner or later. With that in mind, she had no qualms about seeking him out at work and locking herself in the lounge with him. He only looked at her resigned to the fact that he had some explaining to do.

"Hello, Mel." she knew she was wearing her crazy Sookie smile but didn't particularly care. For the first time in months she felt as though she was close to finding out what was wrong with her, with her baby, and she wasn't about to be dissuaded of the truth because she was making anyone uncomfortable. "I called your house. Your wife, Ginger, told me when your break hour is. Hope I'm not interrupting."

He just sighed and signaled to the seat next to him. Sookie narrowed her eyes but sat. She wasn't sure what it was about men that they couldn't see a pregnant woman standing up. But she wasn't going to press the issue since there were more important things at hand.

"I'm sorry about Saturday." he said without looking at her directly. He seemed to be trying to find some particular smell in the air without making it obvious he smelled something.

"I know what you are." he looked up at once then, Sookie saw panic in his eyes and dread. She wasn't stupid enough not to know that had she been someone else who stumbled onto his secret, she could have suffered an accident. "I'm not going to say anything to anyone," she reassured him just in case. "Is not like I'm in any position to reveal secrets." he stared at her for a long moment, and then nodded. "I just want to know what made you think I was…. like you."

"Not like me." he was quick to answer his pride showing. He didn't like the fact that she was comparing whatever she smells like to his own nature. "But you do smell like a shifter. Another kind of wild cat would be my guess."

"I'm not a shifter."

"You can't be one. Jason is older than you." she wasn't sure what that had to do with anything, but didn't pursue it. "Besides, it's not you, but the baby."

"Excuse me? My baby is a shifter?" though Sookie wasn't sure she completely understood what a shifter was, besides the quick look into Mel's head, it made sense to her. She had known for almost as long as she been pregnant that her baby wasn't normal.

"Look," Mel started, combing his fingers through his hair making a mess of it. "I'm not sure what's going on with you or with your baby. I talked with Calvin; he's the leader of us in Hotshot. And he's willing to talk to you, to try to find out what the hell that thing is you are carrying. Because there's no way you are having a were since you are not one. And to be honest a kind of cat is not the only thing I smell on you."

Sookie bit her lower lip and nodded. She knew by sight alone who Calvin Norris was but she was willing to talk to the Pope himself if he could give her any insight into what was happening to her.

"When can I see him?"

She must have looked as lost and young as she felt because Mel's eyes turned soft and were full of pity. "I'll take you tonight. Once my shift is over."

She only nodded. There was nothing else she could say.

* * *

><p>Sookie waited two days after the BBQ to seek out Mel Hart so it didn't bother her having to wait a few more hours for him to finish his shift and take her to Hotshot to meet his leader. She did use the time, however, to visit the town.<p>

Her plan's to find a job had gone down the drain. With her being pregnant no one had been willing to hire her since they would end up losing her after the baby was born and they would have to pay her maternity leave to boot. She was very greatful for her Aunt Linda's help in the last few months. If it wasn't for her, Sookie wasn't sure how long she and her grandmother would have something to eat since most of her grandmother's social security check went in to the house.

Jason could have helped even though he had been so mad at Sookie, but their grandmother had been really firm about him giving her money. Apparently buying groceries when you live in the house was permitted but when you have your own house, it was charity and Adele Hale Stackhouse did not like charity.

Sometimes, Sookie suspected that her grandmother had more money hidden than what she claim's, because there had been instances when things had gone a little tighter than usual and overnight everything would go back to the usual bills. Adele would of course, at those times, claim it was thanks to the oil found on their land but Sookie knew that well had dried up a long time ago. Still it wasn't really her place to comment on it even if she was curious.

Her first stop was to the library, which had been her sanctuary since she was a child. Even in a small town like Bon Temps people found better things to do with their time than reading. She was grateful for that because she could always count on the silence of the library. Of course, she didn't mean the usual physical silence – though that was welcome as well- but the one that comes from the minds of people. Being a telepathic means that she could always hear what was going through the minds of other people whether she liked it or not. So the respite she got in the old brick structure was cherished.

There was a new interim in the Library. A beautiful black woman named Barbara, who Sookie already knew was involved with Alcee Beck, the only black detective in Bon Temps. They exchange the greetings of casual acquaintance that don't particularly like each other.

"We just got a few books you may be interested in." she said to Sookie.

"Really?" Sookie had early on realized that one of the things that had made the woman a good librarian was the fact that she took notice of what her patrons read and made sure to bring new books of their preferred genres, be that fiction or not, to them. "Well, let me see them!" she was always open to read new things. She could proudly say she was self-educated with genres books.

"I'll be right back."

It didn't take long before Barbara came back with four new books in her arms. _The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead; _read the first_. Vampires, Burial, and Death: Folklore and Reality; _was the second_. Vampire: His Kith and Kin; _and the last was,_ The Vampire in Lore and Legend._ Though she had tried to keep her research a secret, she wasn't surprise she hadn't escaped the other woman's hawk like eyes. Nothing went in the library without her knowing. She was also, thankfully, very discrete.

"Thanks!" said Sookie taking the books from her. Since they were new (or at least new to the library, she wasn't sure when they were published), she hadn't read them yet.

Sookie added to her list of books the new Stephen King novel and two books by Nora Roberts she had read countless of times but were her favorites. Then she left in a hurry. The librarian was a broadcaster, which means Sookie could hear her thoughts like she had been saying them a loud. She had been thinking that Sookie really was as crazy as everybody says; why else would she be so interested in damned things? And she was wondering if soon she was going to see Sookie all in black like those gothic guys who belong to satanic cults. And how maybe it comes in the blood because she remembered Sookie's cousin, Hadley, had been like that too, always wearing black, before she vanished for good. When she started wondering if someone should take the baby away from her when he or she was born to protect it from Sookie's influence, the blond slammed the door of the library.

Sookie would have liked to be immune to what other people thought, after a lifetime of being a telepath she could have hoped to be used to people's opinions of her. Used to it enough that it didn't hurt her, but that wasn't the case. Still she wasn't going to dwell on the woman's thoughts. She was aware of who and what she was and that was enough for her. Let the rest of the world compare her to Hadley if they wanted, she was nothing like her cousin. _And that_, she thought to herself firmly, _was everything I'm going to say about that_.

Because she had time still until Mel left work, she went to the nearest Wal-Mart which was in Clarice. Thanks to her grandmother, - and her aunt Linda, too – keeping hers, Jason and Hadley's baby stuff, she had most of what she needed for her child. The crib was old, but in perfect condition as was the bassinet, carriers and even some very delicate looking clothing. But even having all that, she enjoyed buying things for her baby.

Though she didn't have a regular constant job, Sookie kept a small string of odd jobs to help her grandmother and to keep some spending money for her. Her usual jobs as babysitting hasn't been high on her do to list since becoming pregnant, but she had maintained some of her usual clients. Apparently kids don't particularly care she is having a baby without the benefit of marriage or even a man beside her and there were some parents in Bon Temps ready to spoil their children, even if they wished their pride and joy would develop an attachment to another babysitter. And of course, there was always old Mr. Jesse Compton. He didn't like people, or paying people for jobs that need doing in his house in any case. He mostly did things for himself but after arthritis became too much for him he had allowed Sookie to clean the old mansion. However, he only welcomed Sookie into his house and even then it would be months between one of her visits, so when she was finally permitted to go clean again the house was in such a state she gave serious thoughts to calling the health department. Because of that she always charged him more than she could have any other person.

She browsed over the baby section for a while. Most of the stuff she had bought had been white, yellow and green, because she didn't know the sex of the baby. She had forbid her grandmother – Adele had been the one only who would go with her to her appointments so far – to ask because she could pick the answer from her grandma's brain whether she wants to or not and she really wanted it to be a surprise.

After paying for her purchases – a small white kimono and a squeaky Elmo doll- Sookie went back to Bon Temps. Anticipation had been building inside of her since that morning when she first left her house to confront Mel, now it had changed from anticipation to dread and sat painfully in the pit of her stomach.

She met with him in front of the auto shop then followed him all the way to Hotshot, which was out in the country. She really tried not to judge the people in the small community based only on what she was seeing, but she had to wonder how could they live practically in the middle of nowhere, with roads in badly need of repair and the aura of despondency that seems to cling to everything in the crossroad that made Hotshot.

The house they stopped in front of was small in her estimation yet it was easily the biggest in Hotshot. It was off white and you could see the owner took great care of it. There was a small yard with flowers that seems awfully hopeful and out of place. There was no dog or any other domestic animal that she could see in the house. Nor in any of the other houses around as far as she could see.

"Everything is going to be ok, Sookie." said Mel walking towards her. Sookie could tell by his mood that he wasn't really sure of what was going to happen to her or what Calvin might decide to do, but he wanted her to be as comfortable as she could in her situation. "Come on. He knows we are here."

_He and everybody else_, thought Sookie uneasily as she got out of her old nova; she couldn't see anybody but Mel yet she was sure that the residents of Hotshot that where near her were in front of their windows watching. Waiting. Never having been a coward she gave Mel a nod and walked decisively to the front door. It opened before she reached it.

The man inside of it wasn't that much taller than her. 5' 7 at the most. He had lithe build and muscular arms. His hair was blond and cut close to his head. He looked to be in his 40's but she could be mistaken on that. His eyes were what distinguished him more from his peers. They were golden eyes. Cat's eyes. There is no way in hell those eyes belong to a human being.

He looked at Sookie closely from head to toe. He lingered a moment on her stomach, but the look on his face wasn't disrespectful but curious so Sookie didn't comment on it. He did give a hard look at Mel, who didn't meet his eyes. Finally turning back to Sookie he extended his hand to her. "Welcome to Hotshot, Ms. Stackhouse." he said after Sookie took his hand in hers. "I'm Calvin Norris."

His hand was hard and dry and immediately made her feel better. He didn't mean her any harm. He was wary of her, for what Mel had told him and for the rumors that had been circulating about her since she was a small girl and her parents had put her through all the mental health crap. But he didn't have any plans to hurt her or her baby.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Norris." she said shaking his hands firmly. Her grandmother had raised her with manners. "I'm really glad that you agreed to meet with me."

He nodded at her once, and then standing aside gestured towards the living room. "Come on in." he invited.

It was bigger than she expected and clean. There was no clutter, but rather open space. The furniture looked Scandinavian though she wasn't an expert so she could be mistaken. She could see an open doorway that leads to the kitchen, considerably smaller than the living room. It was in a good state too. Though there were curtains in the windows they were the only feminine touch the house could claim. She could only classify that house as a bachelor home.

Calvin was watching her with an amused expression in his eyes. He knew she was evaluating his home and was waiting for her verdict. "This is very nice." was the only thing she said.

"Thank you. We like it that way." Sookie wasn't sure who were the "we" in his sentence but didn't comment. "Take a seat Ms. Stackhouse. Is there something I can offer you?" he asked after the three of them were sitting.

"Thank you, but no. I'm fine."

"Then I guess we're going right to the point." he wait until Sookie nodded. "You know what we are?" it wasn't exactly a question yet neither was a statement.

"I know you guys are shifters. Werepanthers."

"And you know this how?" his tone was as hard as the look he leveled in Mel's way.

Sookie opened her mouth then closed it again. In all her life, even with her own family who were aware of what was really going on with her, she had never said the words aloud. "I'm a telepath." she said in a rush. The time for secrets was long passed, in dealing with these people she had to be honest to expect honesty in return.

"I heard rumors, of course, but part of me never…" he paused, then shook his head. "That's a lie, Ms. Stackhouse. I did believe the rumors from the first time I saw you. You might not remember it, I saw you once when you were a little girl. You were with your grandfather and your father that day. I knew then that there was something supernatural with you."

Sookie shook her head. There wasn't much she remembered before her parents died when she was seven and those memories where mostly bad ones. "I don't remember, but then I was younger than seven, because that's when my dad died." she explain even though it wasn't necessary.

"Like I said, I knew there was something supe in you that day." continued Calvin. "And in your father."

"What?" asked Sookie surprised. "My father was not… he was not like me." there was alarms in her brain. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear whatever Calvin was going to say, because if her father had been like she was and still he put her through all that hell of doctors and tests, she wasn't sure she could forgive him.

"He wasn't a telepath." he clarified much to her relief. "That I know of. The fact is Ms. Stackhouse, that until I heard of you I didn't know of another telepath. It may as well have been just a myth. What makes you a supe is not your telepathy but something else. Something you got from your father, but not from his father."

"I don't understand."

"I told you the first time I met you, you were with them. Your grandfather was a regular human. Your father was not."

Sookie closed her eyes. Since the moment she had realized the baby she was carrying was not a normal one, she had become obsessed with the father. She had convinced herself that whoever that was, it was his fault her baby wasn't human or not completely human. It has never occurred to her that she may be the problem. That she was the one abnormal.

Unbearable hurt, she gazed into Calvin's golden eyes. "What I am?"

"I'm not sure of that, my dear." he said gently. "Whatever the whiff of otherness I'm having from you is, is not enough for me to identify it."

"But Mel says I smell like a shifter." there were tears in her eyes and she told herself firmly it was the hormones.

"Ahh, yes. May I?" not knowing what he was exactly asking, Sookie nodded. Then Calvin stood up walked over her seat and help her up as well. Putting his hands on her shoulders he started to smell her. All over. She stood still, too afraid to move completely uncomfortable with his actions. After a few long minutes, Calvin stopped and moved away. "You smell of magic, Ms. Stackhouse. And of shifter."

"Lion?" asked Mel, he had stood up when Calvin and Sookie did, and had been watching their interaction without comments until now.

"Tiger." corrected the packmaster. He watched completely puzzled by the young woman in his arms. She was shaking. "I don't know how this is possible." he said to her gently yet there was an urgency in his voice that made her come to attention. "You smell like a woman carrying a full weretiger. I've never heard of something like this before. Only a pure weretiger couple can have a child like this."

"I don't understand." a lone tear made his way down her cheek.

"Now, don't cry little one." he said drying her tear away with the pad of his fingers. "We'll find out what's going on. You are not alone now. I'll help you."

Sookie nodded at him, then overwhelmed threw herself into his arms. "Thank you. And please, call me Sookie."

* * *

><p>"I cannot believe you let him get away with this."<p>

"I don't believe I asked for your opinion." countered Eric. His voice was cold and cutting. He was regarding her from his desk chair like a headmaster would a troublesome student.

"You are a sheriff. You outrank him."

"I am a Sheriff, yes." he said softly, his child's angry eyes were focused on him. "In America. In case you haven't notice this is not my clan."

"But you are Eric Northman." she was precariously closed to whining.

"Which is why they are willing to forgive your indiscretion. If you had of been anyone else's child but mine…." he didn't need to finished, she was perfectly aware of what would have happen to her had she not called Eric. That was why she called him in the first place.

"He insulted you." her voice shook with rage though she didn't raise it. She knew better. "You have the ear of the Emperor." she said referring to the ultimate vampire ruler of Japan. "You could have that bumbling idiot on a stake in two minutes should you want it."

"First of all he insulted you, not me. Second of all, I don't want to stake anyone. That bumbling idiot is one of my business associates."

"Still? After what he did?" there was outrage in her voice now.

"Enough." he said with a snap in his voice. He had finally tired of her. She closed her mouth, her lips forming a thin line and nodded to him, he had after all given her an order she was magically bound to obey. "You should remember that you were the one in the wrong here. And trying to provoke me into going after anyone else is pointless."

He seemed to be waiting for something so she answered him the only way she could. "Of course, Master. I'm sorry, Master."

For the next several minutes he completely ignored her while he worked on his laptop. Technology was a great ally. He could be in charge of everything going on back in the States, in his small Kingdom, even when he was all the way across the globe. After sending the last of his documents he turned back to his oldest child.

She was lovely to look at and when she wasn't busy acting like a child for his benefit, she was actually a great vampire. Though vampires could live close to eternity, if they do it right, being hard to kill was in no means a warranty of actually living forever. Vampires had to be very intelligent, very cunning and very ferocious to make it passed their first century. Unfortunately most vampires didn't make it. His child, though not even half his age, was considered one of the oldest vampires still around. And the years had gone to her head. Younger vampires were expected to give their elders respect. But her, like an alarming increasing numbers, had started to believe that her age would give her carta blanche to do as she please. Like it was some kind of immunity to the normal rules and tradition of the vampire nation.

Her slap with reality was long in coming and Eric was really gratefully he was the one delivering it.

"You have managed to get yourself in deep waters, my dear." the last words weren't said in an endearing tone despite their meaning. He was further humiliating her with them. "Thankfully I have some urgent business here; otherwise you would have had to extricate yourself from problems of your own making."

"I am aware of that."

"Did I say you could speak?" but his tone was not hard or angry. It was bored and that was more hurtful to her. "You are not to speak again, until I gave you leave. You understand?" she nodded but didn't look at him. He wouldn't have that, "Look at me, child. Now." she had no choice but to raise her head and gaze into his Arctic cold blue eyes. "I have made reparations with the proper's authorities. You will not be charged with anything." had she been a human she would have exhaled with relief. "That was of course, done as a favor to me. And for my sake, this matter will be buried after tonight." there was a low sound from the computer signalling he had got a new e-mail waiting. Clicking on it he let the room fall in to silence, his child could wait a bit more to learn her fate.

Minutes passed in silence. Because she was a vampire it didn't bother her having to wait or at least not the same way it could have had she being mortal. Time had been her biggest and favorite luxury since Eric brought her over. Still it rankled her, the fact that he could consider business to be more important than her. She could remember the time when she was the center of his universe. Then again, she reflected, that didn't last long either. Their sexual relationship had ended within 30 years of being together much to her disappointment, it hadn't been her choice. She had stayed with him for two centuries even after the thrilling part of their interaction was over. He had taught her everything about being a vampire then he had let her go. It still bothered her that he never protested when she told him she was leaving him to be on her own. But she got past that; he was her father in every way that counts.

"You will leave Japan with me." his voice startled her out of her own thoughts. For a moment she allowed herself to believe that he was inviting her to live with him again. "As part of the agreement I made you are not to come back here for the next five centuries." her eyes widened at that. She had not expected to be banned from the country. Still, she didn't speak since he hadn't given her leave to it. "If you manage to survive that long without getting staked, I suggest you still keep away for another century of two. That's my decision." if she could have, she would have closed her eyes but she didn't dare. Being banned for seven hundred years from one of her favorite's places in the world was not easy. She had no choice, however, but to accept her maker's will. "I will leave in a week's time." he continued, "I will go to Greece. You, my dear one, will go to Africa." she didn't speak aloud but did mouth the name of the country in a silent question. "I have small estate in Botswana. You will move there and you will stay there for the next fifty years. There will be no companions for you, no parties. No outside contact with anyone but with those I send to you. You will not hunt. The only source of nutrition you'll have will be from what I give you. You are not to leave the premises unless I personally allow you to. Do you understand?"

She was shaking, whether from rage or sorrow he didn't bother to find out. Finally after a long moment in which she just looked at him, she nodded. She could have allowed a bloody tear to escape her had there not been a knock on the door at that moment.

The slight small man who entered after a moment was part Japanese part goblin. He was very intelligent, cunning and loyal which was why Eric's child hired him in the first place. Most of the supe communities were in conflicting views of the vampires. They still tumble along between a healthy dose of fear and disgust. Goblins thankfully were on the side of money.

"There is a visitor for you, Sir." he said in his native Japanese. Until that moment, both Eric and his oldest child were speaking Estonian, _her_ native language.

"Are you expecting someone?" he asked the stilled woman in Japanese for the goblin's benefit, she had been sitting in front of his desk in a leather chair; she shook her head. "Please, bring the visitor here."

"As you please, Sir." he closed the door after he left. He returned not thirty seconds later with two big suitcases in his arms, a woman -even smaller than him- behind him. She was carrying a third suitcase this one with wheels on it and a small carryon bag. All of her luggage was blue as was her coat and hat. Her hands were gloved and her makeup was professionally applied. "Ms. Pamela Ravenscroft to see you, Sir."

Her introduction was unnecessary since Eric felt her glee the moment she came into the hallway. So had his other child felt the present of her vampire sister and enraged she stood up from her seat.

"You have no right to come here. Get out." she said in her native tongue. Though she could speak roughly ten languages – Eric has insisted on that while they were still living together when she had been a young vampire. – She refused to acknowledge her maker's other progeny in any way she could. That includes speaking English. There was no lost love between the two women

"Good evening, Master." said Pam ignoring the other female. She put her carryon bag on the floor then went to Eric and kissed his hand in greeting. "When I heard you were in the area I couldn't help myself but to come see you." she wasn't speaking English though she had been tempted to take a page out of the other vampire's book, instead she was speaking in her maker's old tongue. That more than anything else incised her sister.

"You did well." was all Eric said to her. If he'd had breath in his body, he would have sighed.

The two women were physically unalike as any two strangers could be. His older child was all dark allured. Grey eyes, dark brown hair that fell to her shoulders, a thin mouth painted bloody red. Her skin was tanned and exotic and her curves were more subtle than obvious. There was an aura around her that shouted tough girl, keep away. Her hard edges were becoming more visible every day. He worried, when he thought of her, that her long existence was becoming too much. Pam on the other hand was all rose and cream. Her baby blue eyes, blond long hair and ivory skin make her look young and vulnerable. Her lips full and rose colored, made you think automatically of sex until you looked really close and you saw the predator inside the eternal teenager. Most often than not, by that time it was too late.

Pam, who was just past one hundred and fifty, -a relatively young vampire still, - was his pride and joy. A fact that his other child knew and resented.

"This is my house, and I want her gone." said the angry vampire, yet she couldn't bring herself to look at what she considered her competition.

"Your house?" asked Eric in a deadly voice. "As long as I'm staying here this is my house." he paused, then seemed to remember he was in the middle of punishing her. "And you will sign this house over to Pam."

"No. You can't." Now she was beyond angry. "This is my house. Mine. I won't give anything to her but a stake to her cold thieving heart."

Eric slapped her. She shut up. Pam just smiled. The half goblin that had started to inch away when he saw Eric move from his place behind the desk was a few seconds to late closing the door after him slowly to not draw attention to himself. His exit was ignored by all vampires in the room. Eric sat himself back in his chair and signaled the two women to sit as well. Pam, still smiling took off her gloves and sat demurely. Though there was a smirk on her face, she realized she would be better off not saying anything.

"You will sign not only this house, but all of your current properties to Pam. This is not a request, this is not up for discussion, it is an order." he paused until she nodded. The rage in her eyes had subsided a little to be replaced by sorrow. She was losing everything to her worst enemy. Through the bond they share Eric could feel her emotions like his own. He was unmoved. "After your solitary confinement in Botswana is at an end, Pam will sign everything back to you but this house. Since you are not allowed to return for the next few centuries it makes no sense to leave this in your care."

Whether Pam was aware of what was going on or not was everybody's guess, she made no comment or made no question while Eric was delivering his verdict to the vampire. For that he was grateful. Later if he felt like it, he would tell his youngest what has happened. If he didn't she would have to learn of the events through other means. He held no doubts that she would know before the night was over one way or the other.

"Is there any questions as to your punishment?"

"No, Sire." she lowered her head. She didn't have the strength to look at him anymore.

"Then you will retire to your chambers until such time I call for you."

"Of course, Master." she stood up from her chair walked around the desk and falling to her knees, took Eric's right hand and kissed his knuckles. If she had any hope that he could somehow touch her, she hid her disappointment when he didn't. She left the room silently and quickly.

"What are you doing here, Pamela?" he asked after a long pause. "I thought you were going to Paris."

"I did. It was boring." she said standing up and walking, much like her vampire sister, around the desk to reach her maker. She put her hands on his shoulder and rested her head against the hollow of his neck. "Everything is boring lately."

"Take a trip to Disney, then." he didn't see her roll her eyes at him more than he felt it.

"I'm going to have a showing." she announced leaving his master personal space.

"A showing of what?" he asked her surprised.

"Paintings of course. My paintings. The only thing remotely interesting in Paris was this gallery owner. He saw some of my paintings, he like them and wants to show them in Italy, where he is from."

"No paintings of me, I hope." it wasn't an offhand comment of the shy but a warning of the vampire. Secrecy was the number one rule in their world and a painting like photos where proof that they had existed at one point in a particular place.

"Of course not. I do have other models. I have made plenty of paintings that don't have you as the center piece." she said.

"Yes, but they are not nearly as interesting as I am." there was a joking tone now that he was sure his child would not unwillingly reveal anything that would come back to bite them in the ass.

"Ha. I'm not so sure of that. I seem to remember a young tasty girl, not too long ago who was… exquisite. She was a natural." now she smirked at him. "You remember her, yes? The blond with the most beautiful pair of breast ever created?"

"Ahh yes, Sookie." there was for a moment a faraway look on his face. Like he was remembering something so pleasant it was preferable to reality. Then he focused on his child with a renewed interest. "You know, I didn't get to see the final result of your paintings. You made more than one of her didn't you? That's not usual for you."

"She was the most engaging model so far. One painting would not have been enough." she gave herself a moment to be regretful of the fact that after trying hard she didn't get more than flirting from the girl. Her young model had been heterosexual. In the end it had been her maker instead of her that had got the pleasure of being inside the girl. "I have some of her paintings with me." she said at last, "If there's one you want before the showing, I'll give it to you." she smirked at him and there was a bit of fang showing from her mouth. She was enjoying herself. "For a price. Of course."

"Of course." repeated her maker one eyebrow raised. "Let's go see those painting then. Let's go see my Sookie in all her glory."

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><p><strong>If you made it this far please Review!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: **As always I want to give thanks to **slcurwin** and **Aimee1985** for the fabulous job this girls are doing as beta. Since English is not my first language, this lovely ladies are really doing a difference. Also, without them it would have taken my twice as long to update.

I want to thank all of the people who not only read this story but took their time to let me know what you thought of it. All your comments, when you favorite it or put it on your alerts, means the world to me. So thank you, with all my heart.

This chapter was three times as big, but as for **slcurwin's** suggestions it was divided into parts. She was of course right, as it is more easy to read now than it was before and less overwhelming. Good news is that because the other two part are already finished, it won't take another month for the story to be updated! So, don't forget to thank her for that!

Warnings and disclaimers are in chapter one. And now, **Enjoy**!

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><p>"Calvin Norris has been coming a bit much lately," commented Adele as she sat at the table. She was smiling from ear to ear. "Me thinks he likes someone here." her voice came in a singsong kind of way. Like a preteen mocking her best friend in grade school.<p>

"Isn't he a bit old for you Sookie?" asked Linda. Her blond hair, the same shade as her niece's, was in a complicated braid, her makeup was perfectly applied even though it was only eight in the morning.

"I'm not dating him." was the only thing Sookie said. Her face was as red as her cranberry juice.

"Does he knows that, then?" countered Linda. At 39, she was closer to Calvin's age than her niece. "I've never seen a man more smitten with a woman than he is with you." she said in a dry tone. Ever since her husband left her to go back to his family in New Orleans; she was cynical about a lot of things.

"He does seem to be courting you, Sookie." Adele told her as she buttered her bread. "If you don't feel the same for him maybe you shouldn't be spending so much time with him."

There was a reprimand in Sookie's grandmother's tone but Sookie supposed she couldn't really blame her. Calvin Norris was a respected man even though he came from Hotshot. He worked at Norcross – a lumber processing company- and was the crew leader. To be seen up and about with a pregnant teenager who still refused to name the father of her child, was not a good way to maintain respectability.

Calvin didn't care what others thought of him. What was going on with Sookie and with her child had captured his curiosity to the point he had started looking for the answers to her problem with more vigor and urgency than she thought it warranted from a man that had nothing to do with it. But she hadn't protested because it was also urgent for her.

So far they hadn't found much. Calvin had been to her house several times for dinner, because he wanted to find out what Sookie was. Sookie, herself, had not being thrilled with his discoveries. What magic ran in her veins, magic she shared with Jason and with her aunt Linda, was not shared with her grandmother. And that was the missing piece. The magic entered their family with her father's– and Linda's- conception, so one of their parents was the otherworldly being. However, that meant one of two things: either Adele was not their mother or Mitchell had not being their father. She didn't know how to ask.

_How could you ask your grandmother if she cheated on her husband and conceived two children in_ _adultery,_ she mulled for the umpteenth time, _or ask if she was force to raise the children of her husband's mistress? _There never seemed to be an answer to that and frankly she wasn't altogether sure she wanted to know_. What would be the point,_ she asked herself firmly, _to hurt my entire family like that?_ Then the answer gave a particularly nasty kick to her bladder.

She didn't ask her grandmother though, she finished her breakfast instead. If and when she asks, she wanted to be able to stand the answer herself too.

After helping her grandmother with the dishes, Sookie change out of her pajamas and left the house. She had agreed to meet with Calvin in Shreveport. He had told her there was a doctor who might have some insight into what was going on with her. Dr. Ludwig, Calvin had explained to her, was the only exclusively supe doctor of the area. If there was someone who would know what was happening with Sookie's baby, it was her.

* * *

><p>Christmas was fast approaching. People already started decorating their homes with fairy lights and miniature Santa's in their yards. The further into Shreveport she got, Sookie could see that all businesses in the area had been seized by the spirit, too. Red and green were the predominant colors in the windows and almost every store she passed by had small fake Christmas trees. There were, of course, signs telling the public that they had the best deals and discounts you can find before Christmas.<p>

Sookie,-who had been raised as a Christian- wondered not for the first time, when the holiday became all about presents. But since Christianity hadn't taught her anything about shifters and weres, she wasn't going to dwell on that.

It didn't take her long to find either the building that housed Dr. Ludwig's office or Calvin who was in the parking lot waiting for her.

"Thanks for meeting me here." said Sookie with a shy smile. "I'm not sure I would be able to do this if you weren't with me."

Calvin smiled but shook his head. "No, you cut that out. If I weren't here, you still would have done whatever needs to be done. That's one of the many things I like about you."

With her grandmother's voice still in her head from that morning's breakfast, Sookie became uncomfortable. She didn't want to read any more from that statement than what it was, so she decided to take it as a compliment and not a come-on. Calvin Norris had been nothing if not a gentleman with her. She didn't want their relationship to become awkward because of her grandmother's and Aunt Linda's imagination.

Dr. Ludwig's office was on the third floor of the building. They used the elevator to get there and maintained the silence. Though she was nervous about the upcoming appointment, and contrary to her own volition she was still thinking about that morning's comments, it wasn't an awkward silence as she had feared. Calvin was a serene, quiet man who could always relax her just by being around. His hand was on her lower back, she knew he did this for two reasons. The first so they wouldn't get separated, the second was to send a message of protection to anyone who might get ideas about her. Sookie couldn't help but feel safe around him.

The office turned out to be light blue and empty. Sookie had expect to find the office full like any other doctor's private practice, however, the only other person in the room was a woman sitting behind the counter. Her skin was the color of milky caramel; her hair was brown, coarse and abundant. Her lips were full and generous and pulled on a welcoming smile.

"Welcome to Dr. Ludwig's office. You must be Mr. and Mrs. Norris." her teeth were big and white.

"Ms. Stackhouse." Sookie corrected the woman. The universe was plotting against her, she just knew it.

"Of course, I'm sorry." said the receptionist, her smile had dimmed a little and her cheeks were flushed with color making her dark freckles stand out. "I'm Luna Garza, Dr. Ludwig's secretary."

"Is the doctor here?" asked Calvin.

"There was an emergency earlier, so the doctor is running a little behind. Please take a seat."

"Is she a were?" asked Sookie when the two of them were sitting and she was sure Luna was occupied.

"Yes, she is. Can you read her mind?"

"No. Well, not as good as I could have, had she been a normal woman. But her brain feels a little different than yours and Mel's."

Calvin looked at her with interested. "She is a bat. Maybe that's why she feels different. Have you ever known another shifter?"

She shook her head, "I didn't even know that shifters existed before I met Mel."

"But you could tell there was something different with our brains." They had talked before about her ability and Calvin had given her a crash course on the shifters society. Especially the genetics of it. "Think back, have you ever encountered a brain that was as difficult to read as ours is?"

Sookie was silent for a moment, then nodded. "When I was growing up, it was mostly with the kids from Hotshot. The few times I got close to one of their parents and I could feel it too. But because it was the same from everyone who lived there, I just chalked it up to the community." Hotshot had been considered the nest of weirdness in the area. Everybody knew there was something strange with the people of the small community but no one knew the extent of it. "I guess I might have felt something like that from strangers when I went to Dallas on a field trip. And in Öland ." she finished with a subdued tone of voice.

"Öland . That's where you and your friends went, right?" She nodded. "And there you met someone who was a shifter of some kind." It wasn't a question, yet neither was it a statement. That was as close as Calvin had gotten of asking her about the father of her baby.

"There was a guy," Sookie told him, "I think he was a shifter of some kind. But, while I was there, I met another two... people." she said for lack of better word. "I couldn't read their thoughts at all. They were voids to me. That had never happened to me before."

She could tell Calvin wanted to ask her which of the two of them was the father of the baby. The one who's brain pattern felt like a were or the one who had been a novelty to her telepathy. He didn't ask her for which Sookie was very grateful.

"Sookie," by the tone of his voice and his mood she knew he was about to change the theme to something a little more personal and was uncertain of how she was going to take what he was going to say, "last time I was at your house, your grandmother asked me about my intentions towards you."

Sookie closed her eyes in mortification. _Maybe there was something to her Aunt Linda's saying about attracting things with your mind, _she thought in despair. She had after all spent all day, thinking about her grandmother's comments about hers and Calvin's relationship. "What did you tell her?" she finally asked in apprehension.

"Ms. Stackhouse. Mr. Norris. Dr. Ludwig will see you now." came Luna Garza's voice from her place at the counter.

Calvin sighed and stood up. Then turned to look at Sookie who seem frozen in her seat. "Sookie?"

"I can't... I can't go in there." she said.

"Come on, Sookie. There's nothing to be scared about."

"This is my fault." she said starting to shake. "I did something, you see. I don't know what, but I did something and now my baby is a freak. And this is all my fault!"

"This is not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong." Calvin sat back down beside Sookie and took one of her hands in his. "I know you're scared. I know you have no idea of what you're doing or what's going on. But you have to be strong, Sookie. You have to get up from this chair and go talk with the Dr."

Sookie close her eyes and took a deep breath, and then she nodded. "OK. Let's go."

"You have to stand up first Sookie." he said with a chuckle.

"I knew that." she said lightly.

"Well, are the two of you coming in or not?" The voice turned out to belong to the smallest woman Sookie had ever seen. She wasn't sure what kind of creature the doctor was, for all she knew Ludwig was a hobbit. "Come on, girl." She said impatiently, "we don't have all day."

She took Calvin's hand in a hard grip, "Let's go." she repeated. This time, she stood up.

* * *

><p>"Sookie darling, Can I come in?" The knock on the door was accompanied by her aunt's voice.<p>

"It's open." Sookie hid the book she had been reading under her pillow and took a romance novel from her nightstand. She wasn't altogether sure why she was still reading the vampire books when it was obvious her child was not one. But she couldn't stop herself from reading them. Maybe she had been wrong in thinking Eric was a vampire, perhaps he was something else. But as much as she had wanted to know what he was for the sake of her child, part of her had also wanted to find out because she wanted to know more about him.

Eric captivated her in a way that no one had before. She could still see his face every time she closed her eyes. She could still bring his voice, - soft, silky, seductive- to her mind. His touch burnt her still, even months later. No, it hadn't been just for her child's sake she had looked so hard for the answers of what Eric was. She wanted to know everything there was to know about Eric, almost as much as she wanted to see him again.

With a shake of her head she pushed all thoughts of Eric to the back of her mind. They serve no purpose after all, since she wasn't going to see him ever again. She focused instead on her aunt.

"Hey honey, are you all right?" asked Linda sitting at the foot of her small bed. "You were really quiet at dinner."

"I'm fine." The meeting with Dr. Ludwig had gone well as far as she could see. The small doctor had taken her blood to run some tests. According to Ludwig, she would be able to give them some insight into what Sookie was, depending on their results. Ludwig had told them she was able to match 87% of all supes. So unless Sookie was descendant of one of the most unheard of, most unpredictable creatures in the magical world, she - the doctor- would have her race within two weeks. As for the baby, they had to wait to find out what Sookie was before they could begin to question what kind of creature the child would be. "I just have a lot on my mind is all." She finished with a shrug.

"Mom and I were worried that you would be mad at us for this morning's teasing."

"It's not that at all." Sookie lied with a straight face. "I haven't even thought about it."

Linda gave her a searching look, then took one of her feet on her hands and started to massage it. Sookie moaned in delight. "I remember when I was pregnant with Hadley," for a moment there was a wistful look in her eyes. She missed her daughter dearly. "I was fat as a cow. And sure the world was out to get me. So anxious that something could go wrong. Carey wasn't exactly a big help." Carey was her aunt's husband. He left her to go back to New Orleans with his family about a year before Hadley disappeared. He hadn't even come back when Linda called him to tell him that his own daughter was missing. Though they hadn't seen each other since he left, they were still legally married. "But Dad, he was my best source of comfort in those days." She sighed sadly; Mitchell Stackhouse had been dead for seven years. "I would come here at any time, day or night and he would sit with me on that old couch. I don't know what I would have done if he hadn't been with me."

"It must have been really nice." said Sookie wistful. Her grandfather had died when she was eleven years old. She remembered him better than she remembered her own parents. Mitchell had been a gentle, intelligent man, and she felt rotten inside when she thought he may have cheated on his wife.

"It was. Having a man around who's understanding and cares for you is more than just nice."

"Aunt Linda." Sookie tried to interrupt her. She could hear from her brain where that was going and after the day she just had, she wasn't sure she could stand it.

"Sookie," said Linda sternly. Though Sookie wasn't hers by birth, she loved the girl like she was. And as such, she wanted the best for her. "I know that modern thinking is about a woman being independent, about not needing a man. But that's rubbish." she gave Sookie a smile to downplay her harsh words. "Companionship is as vital to human beings as food and air. Don't you feel lonely my dear? When you go to sleep at night, don't you wish there was someone lying beside you?" Sookie could feel her aunt's loneliness. Coupled with her own, it was overwhelming. "I'm not sure if you know this, but last time Calvin Norris was here, mom asked him about his intentions towards you."

Calvin had told her that much. But they were interrupted before he could tell her what his answers had been. Afterward they had been too full of speculations to resume the subject and Sookie had been grateful for the respite.

"There's nothing between Calvin and me, Aunt Linda."

"There might not be on your end, but there is something on his." Linda told her, much to Sookie's surprise. "Sookie, he wants to marry you."

She sat up straighter in her bed, removing her foot from her aunt's grasp. "Excuse me? Where the hell did you get that from?"

"Now you watch your tone young lady!" Linda scolded her. "He told that to Mom. Sookie, you are not an idiot. What would a forty year old man be doing around an eighteen year old pregnant girl?" Because Sookie couldn't tell her about Calvin's real nature, or of hers for that matter, she kept quiet. She could see where the conclusions were coming from even if she didn't agree with them. "He said he had been considering finding a wife for a long time. And he thinks you may be just what he was looking for."

"He's my friend." there was a plea in her voice. She didn't want her aunt to tell her anymore. She didn't want to find out that Calvin was romantically interested in her.

"He asked for your grandmother's permission in courting you. Mom gave it to him." she paused while Sookie shook her head. "I know this may seem old fashioned to you. Archaic even. But they mean well."

"For heaven's sake. This is my life they are talking about not an alliance between families."

Linda was quiet for a minute, giving time to her niece to regain her composure. "I don't know who the father of your child is, Sookie." Aunt Linda had been the only one who hadn't asked her outright in her family. "I don't know if you love him or if it was the heat of the moment. What I do know, is that he is not here now. And Mom and I, there may be a time we are not around either. We are both old, too old to be your only source of support."

"Aunt Linda, you are 39. I would hardly call that old." and then something extraordinary happened. The telepathic was completely taken by surprise.

"I'm dying, Sookie. I have cancer."

Sookie went quiet for a moment, then disbelief came in. "What?"

"You heard me and you understand what I'm saying."

"But you can't... I'm sure that..." Sookie closed her mouth because nothing coherent came out of it. Then she lowered her mental shields completely and looked inside of her aunt's head.

Linda had known for a while she wasn't well. But she thought it was something easily treated. She had been self-medicating for months and just recently her mother had made her go to the doctor to see why the symptoms wouldn't leave her. When the doctor told her she had uterine cancer, she had been seized with a fear that hadn't left her yet. She was willing to do anything to get well again. But she wasn't kidding herself into believing she would be the same. Cancer killed people. And if she was going to die she wanted to make two things happen first. She wanted to find her daughter and she wanted her family to be cared for.

There was just so little she could do for Jason. He was an adult and a survivalist. He could be fine no matter what. And her mother, she was the strongest woman Linda knew. So she didn't worry that much. As for Hadley, there wasn't much she could do there. If her daughter didn't wanted to be found, she would not be. But there was Sookie who needed her now more than ever. Sookie who was the baby of the family; the most gentle, and because of her situation, the one who needs taking care of. If she was going to leave her baby girl, at least she could make sure she was in good hands. Linda knew Jason wasn't up to taking care of his sister. Not like she deserves at least, not now. And her mother, well, Adele was getting on in years. Not much longer and Sookie would end up taking care of her grandmother not the other way around.

Overwhelmed, Sookie let the tears flow. "I don't want you to die." she said after she left her Aunt's thoughts.

Linda gathered the teenager in her arms and started to murmur. "I'm not going to die just yet, my dear. I'm going to fight this as hard as I can for as long as I'm able."

But Sookie didn't believe her because her aunt had already started making plans for when she wouldn't be there. Her aunt Linda was already counting on dying. And she knew that in a tiny part of her aunt's heart, a part she hadn't even acknowledge to herself, Linda had already given up.

* * *

><p><strong>AN<strong>_(2):_ Comments, critics, suggestions and questions are more than welcome. You can reach me here, or send a **PM** or on twitter under my personal account **PrincessVegeta** or my role playing account **WonderWitchAmy** (I play Amelia, everyone is more than welcome to play with me!).

Thanks for Reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**AN**: There's not enough thanks in the world that can cover how grateful I am to my wonderful beta team: **slcurwin** and **Aimee19865**. This amazing girls, not only manage to put off with me, but clean up the mess of words I send them so we can enjoy an actual story. So, don't forget to send love their way!

To all of you ninja readers, who took their time to let me know what you thought of the story so far, offered suggestions, and when I stopped making sense, asked me about what was going on, Thank you!

Warnings and disclaimer are in chapter one.

**Previously**: Adele and Linda talked with Sookie about her relationship with Calvin. Sookie and Calvin went to Shreveport to visit Dr. Ludwig. Linda confessed to Sookie she had cancer.

And now, **Enjoy**!

* * *

><p>Sleep didn't come easy to Sookie that night. She could still hear her aunt's voice telling her she was dying. She could still feel her aunt's resignation to the fact. Then she only felt her own despair.<p>

Death wasn't a new concept for Sookie. Her parents died when she was a young girl of seven. Her world had turned upside down then. Four years later, just as she had found a balance and had come to accept all the changes, her grandfather had died too. That was part of being human she supposed, but knowing that everything must come to an end, including life, didn't make it any easier to accept.

With a sigh Sookie left her bed and started to get ready for her day. The house was empty. She wasn't sure where her grandmother was but she knew her aunt Linda was at work. Having the house to herself for a while was a nice boon. She liked people, but every now and then she enjoyed solitude as well. After doing what little chores she had, she went to her room for a new book. She wished it wasn't so cold outside so she could go lie in the sun for a while but winter had been slowly but surely getting into Bon Temps and not even her with her addiction to the sun was willing to sit outside in nothing but a bikini.

Once in her room Sookie took a moment to look at herself in the mirror and sighed happily. She had been blessed in the bust department. But now her breasts were huge. However, for the first time ever, her belly was bigger than her chest. She turned around so she could admire herself in profile. Her belly was big and round. The last time she saw him, Jason had told her she looked like she was hiding a beach ball under her dress. Her grandmother had thrown the wooden spoon she had been using at the time at him. It hit him on the back of his head, but Sookie hadn't minded one little bit. She was pretty happy with her size. That might change later on. She had after all, three more months to go, but for now she was pleased.

Also, she had started to detect a small brain pattern inside of her. Since she had never been around a pregnant woman she wasn't sure if that was normal or not. Though she supposed it was. The baby was a living being after all, and every living being has a brain pattern including animals. She couldn't detect specific thoughts, but it was there. Unfortunately now she was worried about the possibility that she had passed on her disability to her baby.

Since she was alone she had let her mental shields down, - and though she would never admit it to anyone, she was trying to see if she could pick up something from her child- she realized there was someone at the back door before that person knocked. With mixed feelings she went to open the door to her one time best friend.

"Sookie." Said Tara happily once she was inside of the kitchen. She wanted to hug the blond but wasn't sure that would be well received and she really couldn't stand to be rejected by the only person who always accepted her as she was. "I'm so glad to see you." she said instead.

"It's been a long time." said Sookie gesturing to the kitchen table so Tara would know she was welcome to take a seat.

"Yes, it has." agreed the brunet once she sat at the table and put her big, red leather purse on the floor. "I've been meaning to talk to you for months now but I wasn't sure you wanted to see me."

Sookie nodded. If she was telling her friend that she understood, or that she did well in staying away from her for a while, Tara wasn't sure. She was just glad she hadn't been kicked out of the house yet.

"How have you been?" asked Sookie. "I'm sorry. Do you want something to drink?" her grandmother would be displeased that Sookie hadn't asked her as soon as she came into the house.

"Just water thanks." she gave an inward sigh of relief. "I'm fine. College is really interesting. Of course most of my classes are basic for now. English, math and the like. I hope next year I can start with my concentration." Tara was majoring in Business Management.

"I'm glad you like it." she was sitting in front of Tara, an apple juice on her hands.

"I'm sorry." Tara blurted out. Her eyes were filling with tears and she was blinking repeatedly to stop them from falling. "I am so sorry about everything, Sookie. You have to believe me that I did not mean for all this to happen."

Sookie looked at her for a moment before speaking. "You didn't do this to help me, as you and Marianne claimed, Tara." Sookie told her gently. She was tired of being on the outs with her best friend. She missed her. But she couldn't just forgive and forget. Her entire life and that of her family by association had changed on the whim of two immature girls.

Tara shook her head. "We told you why we did it, Sook. And we are so sorry. _I am_ so sorry."

"You see, Tara, I had months to think about this. And your version of it does not cut it." she hadn't confronted them about that the day she went to Marianne's house because she had wanted to hear their explanation of their actions without any prompting from her, also at the time it had been just a thought that hadn't fully formed. Her fears and confusion about a then-not confirmed pregnancy had been uppermost in her head. But like she said to Tara, she has had time to think things through since then. And the bothering thought had turned into an entire concept full of suspicion. "You and Marianne were fighting pretty bad in the weeks before the trip. That first night in the bar, I didn't leave because of John, I left because I was tired of your bickering and both you and Marianne knew that."

"Sookie," Tara tried to interrupt her.

"That was the night the two of you found the old woman who gave you the potion. Wasn't it?" she didn't need Tara's nod to know she was right. Her brain had confirmed it for her. "It wasn't about helping me at all, was it Tara? You may have convinced yourself of that after you saw what the potion did to me. But you and Marianne wanted to get revenge because I wouldn't take a side on your stupid war."

"God, I'm sorry." she said letting the tears fall. Sookie was not moved. "I swear it was meant to be a harmless prank. And we did think it could help you. It was like getting two birds with one stone. But I swear in front of God and a stack of bibles that we didn't really know it would get that bad. We didn't mean to hurt you. And we didn't even imagine in our wildest dreams that you were going to get pregnant because of it."

And just like that Sookie let go of her anger. Tara was right. There was no way either she or Marianne would have known she was going to end up pregnant. They had been wrong in giving the potion and Sookie's life had change forever because of it, but they were kids still. Wasn't that part of growing up, making a mess of things and learning from it? She could blame her friends for their actions, but that would not change anything and as long as she was going to be honest, Sookie wasn't sure she wanted things to be different either. She loved her baby. Supernatural or not. And without her trip to Öland , without Tara's and Marianne's interference she would have never had him or her.

"It's OK." she said to her friend after a long silence.

"Can you forgive me, Sookie? You are my best friend in the world and I miss you."

"I miss you, too." they clapped their hands on top of the table and suddenly they were both laughing. And it was like they never part from each other.

* * *

><p><em>It was raining outside. From her place in the small office she could see the lighting breaking the sky in half. She was half temped to throw her robe onto the floor and go out dancing naked into the night. If she closed her eyes she swore she could feel the drops of rain <em>_on__ her body. A noise near the doorway interrupted her reverie; she turned from the window to look at the new arrival._

_He was beautiful. Sookie was sure that if she voiced that thought he __w__ould be offended. A man like him would prefer the term handsome or some other word that sounded more masculine. But no other word came close to describe him. He was almost otherworldly in his beauty. Six foot four, give or take, his skin was white as marble, his eyes the intense blue of the ocean. His lips were full and generous. His hair was the same shade of blond as her own._

_He was all male. He was temptation. Perdition._

_His name was Eric and he was Pam's - the artist- older brother._

"_I am sorry, I did not mean to disturbed you." he said. Whether that was truth or not, Sookie could not tell. His thoughts were a complete blank to her. Much to her delight._

"_You are not disturbing me." she hoped she sound__ed__ coy and seductive. "Come on in."_

"_Pam says she is working __on__ an entire collection of paintings of you." he didn't go to the desk as she __hoped, since she was close to it. Instead he sat in the armchair closest to the fireplace._

"_She is painting me as Freyja."_

"_Goddess of Love, beauty and fertility." he said in a low voice. "She made a good choice with you."_

"_Do you think I look like Freyja is supposed to?" she walked towards him slowly. His eyes followed the movement of her body._

"_That could depend." he finally said when she stopped in front of him._

"_On what?" she breathed. There was a quickening in her veins. Part of her, a very tiny almost mute part of her, was telling her that she wasn't meant to act like that. That there was something wrong and she should run. She blocked that voice. It was fun and she wanted. Oh, how she wanted._

"_Brísingamen" said Eric. "It depends on how you look with it."_

_Pam had given the necklace to Sookie the first time she painted her. It was made of gold, amber and rubies. She had fallen in love with it the first time she saw it. Pam had explained that Brísingamen was the magical necklace of the Goddess. She had to have it on for every single painting._

"_Not everyone can wear Brísingamen." Eric continues._

_Sookie smiled at him and untied her robe letting it fall to the floor. The necklace was resting between the swell of her breasts. It, along with her hip length hair, was the only thing she was wearing now._

"_Do I look like Freyja?"_

"_Oh yes, you do."_

_Sookie thought she saw him shudder, but she could have been mistaken on that. Especially because before she could really think about it, he had stood up and moved closer to her. One of his large hands cradled her face. He was cold despite the fact that he had been sitting in front of the fire. His other hand was running over her arm._

"_If I am Freyja tonight, who are you?" she was inching closer to him which was a hard chore since they were practically touching already._

"_Tonight I am Óðr." he murmured against her lips before he kissed her._

Sookie woke up with a combination of arousal and shame. She had thrown herself at the man a few short hours after meeting him. And though she now knew why she had acted that way it changed very little of how she felt about the entire incident. But remembering it still caused her blood pressure to rise.

How could it not? Eric had been the stuff fantasies were made off. The fact was, she had wondered more than once if her memory had been affected somehow by the potion that she had seen what she wanted to see instead of the reality. But as surreal as her experience with Eric had been, she wasn't the only one who saw him; both Tara and Marianne had seen him and had been stuck in a lust induced haze afterward. He was real, whatever else he may be. Wherever he was.

_Which wasn't with her_. With a sigh she fought her way out of bed. It wasn't as easy as it once was to get up from low places. The closer to the floor, the harder it was for her to stand up. She loved it. She paused for a moment between her bedroom's doorway and the hallway that led to the bathroom. She could feel by her family's brain patterns that they were asleep. _And so should you young lady._ Sookie told herself sternly. But she couldn't stomach going back to sleep, lest she dream about Eric again or John. Her hormones were all over the place and she did have some fond memories of her first lover. Either way, thoughts and dreams of them only made her feel lonelier. For that she blamed her aunt entirely.

After a quick stop at the bathroom, Sookie went to the kitchen. Her grandmother frowned upon midnight snacks but she was pretty hungry. Plus her baby became really active after she ate and she wanted to see if she could get something from her or his brain.

Sookie's solitary meal was interrupted by the ringer of the phone. She left her half eaten sandwich (which was a Jason special, with a bag of chips and orange juice), and went to answer it before her aunt or her grandmother could be woken by the noise.

Because of the hour she wasn't surprised to hear her brother's voice. No one else would have been as impolite as him to call at nearly one in the morning.

"Hey, Sook."

"Jason are you OK?"

He was silent for a long moment before he spoke again. "Sookie I need a favor."

"At this hour?" since he didn't sound hurt or drunk, she was a little miffed at him.

"Yes. Listen I need you to go to my house and get me fifteen hundred dollars."

Sookie opened her mouth and closed it again when no sound came out of it. She blinked repeatedly, and then shook her head. "Come again? Why the hell do you need that kind of money at this hour and where did you get it in the first place?"

"Sookie now is not the time for that." he sighed heavily when she didn't answer him. "I'm in jail. I need the money to pay for my bail. Happy?"

"What in the name of heaven are you in jail for?" she shouted at the phone, then paused to see if her raised voice had woken any of her housemates. Thankfully they were still asleep. "Is this serious? Should I contact a lawyer?"

"No. Just bring the money. And for the love of God don't say anything to Gran!"

"OK, OK. I'll be right there." she hung up on her brother and went to her room to change out of her pajamas.

Because Sookie was trying to be ninja-like so she would not wake up her family, that was of course when she made more noise. Though she wasn't normally a clumsy kind of girl, between changing her clothes and leaving the house altogether she managed to overthrow her nightstand, scatter the mountain of books that were on it and brake her lamp. She had a moment of panic when she felt her grandmother waking up, but after holding her breath for a long time, Adele went back to sleep.

Had she been a normal teenager she would have had sneaking out down to an art. Thanks to her disability though, there had never been wild parties on her to do list. The few times she had gotten an invitation (more often than not when the one throwing the party was a girl wanting to date Jason and was using her to get to him), her grandmother had been so delighted that she had given her permission. School night or not. Neither had she ever snuck out to meet a boy. The few ones that asked her out despite her reputation (she was after all very pretty and some males had been willing to overlook her strangeness), had been more interested in her chest than in her personality. When one can hear her date thinking about all the things he wished he could do, the only thing she was in the mood for was to punch him. Which she has done so many times that in the end; only her friend JB was willing to ask her out.

Still, after she was on her way to rescue Jason, there was a feeling of accomplishment that made her feel stupid. _One should not feel good about sneaking out of their house, _she berated herself. Especially when it's not because of a hot date but because her brother was in jail. Then, she wondered how would it feel if she was sneaking out to have an affair. She felt even more foolish then. She laughed at herself.

Since Bon Temps was a small town it didn't take her more than twenty minutes to reach Jason's (and legally speaking, hers too) house. It was considerably smaller than her Gran's farmhouse. One floor only, three bedrooms, just one bathroom. It has however, a lot of land; there was even a small man made pond out the back. She knew because her grandfather had told her, that Corbett Stackhouse had the pond made in anticipation of years of fishing with his own son. They had unfortunately only got a few years since he died when Jason was only ten years old.

Jason had the foresight of letting Sookie know after he moved into the house a few months ago, where he had put everything (of course when he did he was just making sure Sookie knew where to look in case he was hunting and needed something from the house). So it didn't take her long to find where he hid his emergency-only money, (inside of a Ziploc bag in the cookie jar. Jason wasn't that creative).

After getting the fifteen hundred dollars from its hidden place, Sookie was back in her car. She was also regretting the sandwich because her baby was jumping all over her stomach. It was active all right. And she was in no position to see if she could find his or her brain now.

There were close to ten cars in the small parking area of the police station. Though the only time she had been inside the station was on a field trip when she was in elementary school, she didn't think so many people at once were a normal occurrence. In all the times she had driven by she had never seen the lot full like it was. Especially taking into account the late hour.

Curious, she dropped her mental shields and focused on what was happening inside. Recently promoted Andy Bellafleur was tired out of his mind and wanted to go home. His shift had been over almost three hours ago and thanks to the problem at the bar he had to put in some overtime. Sheriff Dearborn was fighting with his wife so he was glad he was staying for a few more hours. Also he had been trying to prove that there were wrong doings at the bar and now he finally could prove it.

Sookie sighed. _The bar_ was a very old, very big building. It was practically swallowed by the forest that surrounded it. As far as she could tell it didn't do a lot of brisk business. And if it has another name besides "_the bar"_ she had never learned it. What she did know however, was that there was all kinds of gambling going on there after hours and if Sheriff Dearborn was so happy about the bust maybe he finally managed to prove it. She really hoped Jason had not been sent to jail for illegal gambling, if that was the case her grandmother would die from the shame. Or strangle him. At that point she wasn't sure which.

She searched for Jason with her mind before going inside just to make sure her first assumption of him not being hurt or drunk were correct. He wasn't, thankfully. He was thinking how much he wanted a beer and get Carla out of her jeans. In that order. Sookie scattered immediately out if his mind. Her brother, apparently, was having the time of his life in jail.

* * *

><p>"You are going home with me, Jason Stackhouse." said Sookie crossly. After paying Jason's, Carla's and Hoyt's fines for disturbing the peace, they crammed into Sookie's old nova. "Where are your cars anyway?" she asked as they left the parking lot.<p>

"Back at the bar." said Hoyt. He at least had the decency to feel ashamed by his actions. He was also sporting a split lip.

"We kind of have plans Sookie." said Jason, he was driving.

"You had plans." corrected the teenager. "Now we'll take Carla and Hoyt to their cars and you're going home with me."

They argued until they reached the bar but in the end, Sookie acknowledged that there was no way to explain Jason's presence in the house without explaining to her grandmother about that night's adventure.

"Thanks for helping us tonight, Sook." Jason told her after Hoyt left in his truck and Carla was in Jason's. Apparently they were spending what remained of the night together.

Sookie had nothing personal against the small dark haired girl, expect for the fact that she was one more in the long line of girlfriends of her brother. "You have to stop this, Jason." she said after a pause. "You could have woken Gran when you called and where would you be then?"

"You answered, so no problem there." that was Jason's motto, _Live In The Moment_.

"We'll talk about this later." Sookie said ominously, she knew that there was nothing she could get out of Jason at the moment. He was already thinking of the good time he and Carla were about to have, much to his sister's disgust.

Sookie left her brother in the parking lot with his girlfriend and went home. She was more than ready for bed, though her baby was having others ideas. She rubbed her stomach where she could feel one of the baby's feet pressing on her. "Ready to go to bed?" she asked out loud. She could feel the vague, almost lazy, brain patter of her child. Like a small buzz at the back of her brain. It was comforting. "We are almost home, sweetie." she murmured.

Her house was all light up. That was the first thing she noticed when she got home. She went to the back of the house, which was the most commonly used entrance, already anticipating the lecture. Her ninja escape had obviously failed. She wince when she noticed an old pickup truck beside her grand's and her aunt's car. She recognized it as Calvin's after a moment. With a heavy sigh Sookie turned off her car and went to face the fire.

The three of them were in the living room waiting for her. She wasn't surprise to see both her grandmother and her aunt completely dressed despite the hour. They were after all, well breed ladies, and ladies did not entertain a man in their nightgowns.

Calvin was sitting on the couch, looking wearily at Adele who was pacing the floor back and forth. There was a cup of half sipped coffee in his hand. Aunt Linda was sitting on the loveseat in front of him. She looked more tired and pale than her mother. Her mind was in a dark cold place that scared Sookie to her marrow.

"Where have you been young lady?" Though her grandmother was the first to speak to her, Sookie knew that it had been Calvin who became aware she was back first.

"I'm sorry, Gran. I did not mean to worry you. Any of you." The first thing she learned as a child was that apologizing worked the best when she was in the trouble. Becoming defensive only made things worse.

"Do you have any idea of what you put us through?" Adele demanded. "When I woke up and you were not there in your room, oh." she choked up.

Linda left her seat to go to her mother. She embraced her and sent a scolding look at her niece. "Your room looking like it was the scene of a crime did not help." Sookie blushes remembering her nightstand and broken lamp.

"I'm sorry." repeated Sookie.

"I think it would help you if tell us where you went?" prompted Calvin.

Sookie wanted to ask what he was doing in the house but couldn't work how to do it without sounding either rude or tacky. The last thing she needed was to offend the one helping her the most.

"Was it something with the baby?" Adele asked her before Sookie could address Calvin's suggestion. Now the woman sounded more worried than mad. "Did you go to the hospital?" Linda guided her to sit on the loveseat she just vacated.

"No Gran. The baby is fine." Sookie went to her Gran and sat beside her. Adele took Sookie's hand and sandwiched between hers. "I'm sorry you guys were worried." she turned to Calvin. "And that they made you come at this hour, too."

"We thought," said her aunt uncomfortably "that you may have gone out to meet with someone."

Sookie looked at her blushing aunt with surprise. She got from her brain that Linda was convinced she went out to meet with a man. Adele had called Calvin hoping he was the one Sookie was meeting with, while she -Linda- believed Sookie had gone out to meet with the baby's father. Linda had become very worried that the mystery man may have talked Sookie into leaving with him. Leaving Bon Temps and her family behind.

"Aunt Linda I would never leave you guys." Linda flinched. It has been years since Sookie had commented on what she had been thinking, and though she was aware of her niece's ability it bothered her on a basic level. "I'm sorry," said Sookie hurt after seeing her aunt's reaction. "I didn't mean to speak out of tone."

"Don't apologize for what you are, my dear." said her grandmother squeezing her hands. "But you still haven't said where you went." Sookie, who had been trying to come up with a story that didn't involve Jason, since she entered the house, was saved by the phone ringing. In a huff Adele took the cordless phone from the coffee table. "Hello. Maxine, dear isn't this a little late to be up? No. Are you OK?" though Sookie could only hear her grandmother's part of the conversation, unlike the other two people in the room, she could follow completely by her grandmother's mind. "Jail? What do you mean they were in jail?"

Sookie sighed, apparently Hoyt had less ninja skill than she did, and he had been caught. Before she could try to defend her brother and his friends, Sookie, still on her grandmother's mind stood up alarmed. Adele had a clear picture in her brain of Jason behind bars, and then her mind shut down. To Sookie it felt like someone had turned off a switch. One minute she was in, feeling her Gran's thoughts and emotions, and then there was nothing. "Gran." she shouted as the old woman let the phone go, her arms going limp as she too, fell to the floor.

* * *

><p><strong>AN (2)<strong>: Comments, critics, questions and suggestions are more than welcome. You can contact me here (reviews), or send a **PM**. If you are in the twitterverse you can reach me at my personal account **PrincessVegeta**. Thanks for reading and don't forget to comment!


	4. Chapter 4

**AN**: First of all I want to apologize because this chapter should have been publish long time ago. This last few months have been really life changing for me and time became my enemy for awhile. That say, I want to thank to all the readers who took their time to comment, asks, favorite and followed this story. It means the world to me.

To my wonderful beta team, whom I know I can always count on: **slcurwin** and **Aimee1985** I love this girls to pieces.

I hope you all like this chapter, because there is a lot of Eric on it!

**Warnings** and **Disclaimer** are in chapter one.

**Previously**: Sookie and Tara made peace with each other. Sookie had a flashback of her time in Öland when she met Eric. Jason, his newest girlfriend and Hoyt are arrest and Sookie sneaks out of her house to pay their bail. Adele finds out Jason was arrested and lost consciousness.

* * *

><p>Sookie woke up when someone shook her. It took her a moment to realize that she wasn't in her own bed, but rather she was resting against someone's hard chest. She took a minute to bask in the feeling of comfort and security before opening her eyes and facing reality. She was in the hospital still. Her Aunt Linda, her brother Jason (along with Carla), and Calvin were there with her.<p>

"What's going on?" she asked sleepily.

"We are going home, darling." said her aunt gently. The lines of the corner of her eyes and mouth were carved deeply. She looked like she had aged ten years in one night.

Sookie sighed and sat up straight on the plastic chair in the waiting room. When she realized she had been leaning on Calvin's chest and had, in fact, slept on him, she blushed. "How's gran?"

"She's gonna die." wailed Jason. He was slumped on the floor in front of them.

"She is certainly not going to die." Linda sent her nephew a hard glare. "They are keeping her a few more days for observation."

"But she's OK?" Sookie wasn't sure how long she had been sleeping, but the sun was already up and the hospital was bustling.

"Yes, for now. They managed to get her blood pressure down and for the moment she is out of danger." she held a hand to Sookie to help her stand up. "Come, sweetheart. Let's go make a quick stop in the lady's room before going home."

"Is Gran, really alright, Aunt Linda?" Sookie asked her aunt after using the restroom and washing her face in the sink. She could see her reflection and that of her father's sister through the mirror. They looked a lot alike. Same shade of blond hair, eye color. The same shape of their lips. Sookie resembled her aunt more than she ever did her own mother.

"Yes, I didn't want to wake you up when the doctor came the last time, but he told us she was going to be fine. I'm not saying that it wasn't serious," she was determinate not to lie to her niece. "Losing consciousness like she did, obviously is not a good thing but -"

"This is my fault, isn't it?" Sookie interrupted her. She turned away from the mirror, coming face to face with her aunt. "If I hadn't snuck out of the house this wouldn't have happened."

"If you hadn't left the house, Sookie, mom would have taken that call from Jason and the end result would have been the same." Linda blew out a breath and crossed her arms over her chest. "This was your fault and Jason's and mine only in the fact that mom's loves us and is worried about us." she softened her tone, when she saw Sookie's lowered lip quivering. It was so easy to forget that she was practically a child still. "Mom is at the wrong end of sixty, Sookie. And she has been taken care of us since forever. Now we have to do our best to take care of her. Do our best not to worry her."

"Aunt Linda, Jason is an idiot. I'm worried every day that he's going to lose a toe at work because he's more interested in checking girls out than the work he's doing. You have cancer and I have three more months until the baby comes. How exactly are we going to stop her from worrying about us?"

"I will talk with Jason. He will have to clean his act up or there will be hell to pay, believe me." she tried to give Sookie a smile, but ended up being more like a grimace. "I will take my treatment, and I'll get better. As for you..."

Sookie got the words from her aunt's mind before Linda said them out load. She closed her eyes in despair. "Marrying me off is not a solution, Aunt Linda." she shook her head in denial, her aunt's thought were bombarding her own brain. "No, things don't work like that." she answered the unspoken words. "Marrying someone is not going to magically resolve all of our problems. This is the real world, Aunt Linda."

"Listen to me, Sookie." Linda put her hands on Sookie's shoulders and shook her a little. "Mom needs to know that you are fine. That someone is taking care of you and your child. Do you think she rests easy worrying about you? Of how you would fare if something happen to her? To me? She deserves better than that. Do you think she likes how things stand now? Not even being able to go into town without having everyone looking at her, talking behind her back."

"Is that what you think? She's ashamed of me?"

"Not of you." she told her. "But certainly, of the situation."

"The situation?" Sookie felt numb. "The situation, as you call it Aunt Linda, is my baby. And I'm sorry you and Gran are ashamed of us."

"Sookie!" Linda called after her, but the teenager just kept on walking out of the restroom.

Sookie kept on walking, ignoring her aunt calling her, until she found Calvin. He was still in the waiting area and though Jason was still there too, both men were ignoring each other. "Can you take me, home?" Sookie asked the werepanther.

"Sure, I'll take you and your aunt back home."

"No. Just me." she looked back to see her aunt had already caught up with her. "She can get a ride back with Jason."

He gave her a searching look before speaking. "Come on, then." he said, taking one of her slim hands in his.

They made their way in silence. Even after they were in his truck and the hospital was shrinking away in the rear-view mirror, they didn't speak. Sookie was bursting with a mix of anger, hurt, resentment and the sneaking suspicious that her aunt was right. And that made it all the worse in her books. She was not ashamed of her child nor the circumstances of its conception. _Which was none of my fault, _she thought to herself tiredly. No one but her and her friends knew what really happened, and that was her decision. Her choice. So how could she blame her family for thinking she willingly sleep with a man without the benefit of marriage, when she wouldn't even gave them his name? And how could she blame her aunt and her grandmother for wanting her to get married when they were old fashioned, religious women. That was how they thought. Hell, how they felt. They just wanted what they thought was best for her, even if Sookie herself did not agree.

"Calmed down?" Calvin asked her as he parked his truck and turned off the ignition.

"I'm acting like a baby." She blew out a breath and looked at him; he was so solid and real. And safe. "I'm sorry I keep dragging you into my problems."

"Hey, look at me." he took one of her hands and sandwiched it between his. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to be."

His brain was buzzing around her. She could feel it, but didn't get that much from him. It was like having the radio really low in volume. It comforted her. "My aunt wants me to marry you." she blurted out, then winced at her own insensitivity.

He was quiet for several moments, before speaking to her. "And what do you think? What do you want?"

She wet her lips with her tongue, and then bent forward resting her head against the dashboard of the truck. She wasn't sure how to answer that. "I want things to be like they were before my trip. I want my aunt to be healthy, and my friends to be fighting with each other instead of not speaking to me. I want my grandmother to keep going to all of her clubs and societies without people talking of the bad job she did raising my brother and me." she gave him a challenging look. "Because she did a great job and those who say different are talking trash."

Calvin held his hands up in sign of surrender, but there was a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Stop there warrior princess, I'm on your side, remember?"

Sookie blushed again, but smiled at him. "I'm sorry, it just burns me when people talk about my Gran like that. She did the best she could. And everybody just focuses on the negative side of things."

"I get what you are saying, Sookie. But you can't live your life according to what other people think and say. And I bet your grandma knows that too."

"She's great, isn't she?"

"Yes, she is. And she raised an amazing grandchild too."

"I don't want all things to be like they used to." she confesses after a few seconds "I love my baby and I'm glad I'm having it." She looked at him straight in the eye. His golden, cat like eyes that reminded her he was far from human, like her baby. Like herself. "I'm glad I met you."

"I'm glad I met you, too. Come on, let's go inside."

Sookie looked for the first time at her surroundings. She wasn't at her house; instead she could see a McDonald's building. "This isn't my house."

Calvin shook his head. "You and the baby need to eat." was all he said.

"Thank you." she said softly. It wasn't such a bad deal having someone taking care of her, being there with her. Maybe her aunt was onto something, and she shouldn't cross marriage off of her list yet.

* * *

><p>Eric walked into the restaurant, giving thanks that he didn't need to breathe. Unlike centuries ago, the aroma of food didn't bother him that much, but garlic still did and apparently it was being used in abundance that night. He followed his Hostess, a forty something red head that was trying to pass breathing off as an Olympic sport in order to get him to notice her man-made breasts. She kept giving him quick looks over her shoulder to make sure he was still behind her. Eric concentrated on the musky scent of her arousal but couldn't quiet overcome the garlic in the air.<p>

His dinner companion was already waiting for him. As the redheaded woman took him to a small and dimly lit terrace, he gave thanks to whatever deity was looking out for him that his partner had chosen to dine alfresco that night.

"Your waitress will be with you momentarily." said the hostess in Greek. She was even more flustered when she saw the other man. Though considerably older, he was just as beautiful. She wondered if they were father and son, even though they hardly resembled each other. "If there is anything you need," she sent both men a seductive look. At that point she wasn't too particular about which of the two of them took her up on her offer. "Just let me know."

"That never gets old, does it?" said Niall sociably, to the blond vampire. "You didn't even have to glamour her."

"Neither, did you." Though fairies didn't have the same kind of glamour that vampires did, their beauty acted in practically the same way.

"My boy, if I dropped my shields I would have to protect myself from you, not the woman-folk here." he said with a smile.

The scent of fairy was, after all, intoxicating to vampires. But Niall was not worried about that particular effect right now. Unlike most fairies, he could hide his scent. As long as he was present the vampire would not detect him, once he left the restaurant though, his smell will be impregnated in everything around him. He pitied the creature who came into contact with the vampire after.

A young man came then, he was balancing various plates and drinks on a tray. "I hope you don't mind, I already ordered." Eric shook his head. He didn't need to eat. In fact his digestive system could not process human food at all. That was the only downside of playing human, to his mind.

"How long has it been this time, old friend?" asked Niall. Coming from others that might have been just polite conversation. Eric knew that wasn't the case with Niall. The fairy Prince spent some of his time in the human realm, but the bulk of it he spent in _Faery_and time passed different there. Also the older man was lousy keeping time straight in his mind, though he was far from senile.

"Not that long this time." he accepted the plate without even acknowledging the young man. Humans were beneath him. "We saw each other a few months ago when I returned Brísingamen to you."

"Ah yes," he said, then took a sip from his wine glass. The white wine tasted fruity and not altogether unpleasant on his tongue. "I hope it served its purpose."

Eric thought of his child's joy when he delivered the necklace to her. Then he thought of the young model and how Brísingamen had looked cradled between her breasts. Instantaneously he felt himself go hard and his fangs go down. "Pam was very happy with it." he finally said.

Niall arched an eyebrow but didn't comment on the fangs. "I'd like to say you are more than welcome to borrow it again, but I'm afraid Brísingamen is not in my possession any longer."

"What?" Eric, conscious that he was in a human establishment, had retracted his fangs, just to have them pop again at that news. "It was stolen?" He didn't dwell too much on his past life, when he was still a human, but some things you take with you even to the undead life, and this struck a deep chord within him. Brísingamen was Freyja's most precious possession. She had lost her standing because of that necklace. As a warrior Eric had pledged himself to the Goddess and in some deep part of him his devotion to her was still present. It didn't matter that the fairy Prince had owned but a replica. What was important was the fact that it was now in unworthy hands.

But Niall merely waved his anger away. "It was not stolen." he said. "But that is part of why I wish to speak to you." He took another sip of his wine, before speaking again. Eric knew him enough to know he was not doing it for dramatic effect, though as all fairies were, he was prone to these gestures. "My son was murdered."

Niall had three sons, as far as Eric knew. Full fairy Dillon, and half breed twins: Fintan and Dermot. One he tolerated one he openly despised, and only one he loved. It didn't take a genius to know which had had been murdered. Niall wasn't just furious, he was grieving.

"Fintan was a fierce warrior." he told him for lack of better thing to say. Eric hadn't had many dealings with the half-ling, but what little there had been, both of them always parted on good terms. "Has the perpetrator being caught yet?"

"No one has come forward to claim responsibility yet. I have people working on that. There is no place, in this realm or any other, where they can hide that I will not find them."

Eric nodded, revenge was a universal sentiment. "Do you require my assistance?"

But Niall shook his head. "Not in this matter, at least not now."

"What can I do for you then?"

"Fintan left behind a family." _now_, he paused for dramatic effect. Eric gave him none. "They live in Louisiana. In your area to be precise."

"I wasn't aware there were fairies in my area, Niall. I could have gone to meet them long ago."

"Don't be impertinent, boy," Niall scolded him. "And they are not full fairies, either." he paused for a moment, not the least bit bothered by the vampire's comment. "What I need you to do is to keep an eye on them. I'm afraid they might be in danger from whoever murdered my son."

"Why don't you take them to Faery with you? Or assign some full fairy guards?"

"Because they are not aware of what they are." as Eric arched an eyebrow he smiled. "Hard to believe, I know, but they have been kept completely away from other supernatural beings until now. Fintan and his woman made a deal before their first child was born, and that was that as long as he lived, Fintan was not going to involve their family in the fairy world. He had complied until his death."

"You are telling me Fintan's children have no idea of what they are? Of what their father is?"

"They had no idea Fintan was their father." Niall stressed. "Fintan's woman was married at the time, and her husband was the one who raised, for the most part at least, Fintan's children."

"And now that he is dead, do you intend to tell them the truth?"

"No. Not now, at any rate. Fintan's first born, a boy, was killed a few years ago. He had two surviving children of his own. Fintan also had a second child, a daughter, who has a child as well. I intend to be part of their lives, but first I need to know two things. And that is where you come in."

"Which are?" was all the vampire asked.

"That they are safe and that they are worthy of me."

"Worthy of being claimed by Prince Charming? That might be a hard order." he wasn't sure how much truth there was to the rumors, but he had heard that it took Dillon five hundred years to be claimed by his father. "What I am supposed to do? Do I contact them?"

"No. Just observe. Maybe send someone over for protection; until Fintan's murderer is caught I cannot be sure that they are not in danger. But you don't need to have direct contact with them unless you wish to." when Eric nodded to let him know that he would comply with his task, Niall smiled brightly. That taken care of, he changed the subject. "Now, tell me how things were in Japan. I couldn't make it but I heard you came aboard on the project."

"Yes, I'm glad you invited me in. The concept is very interesting and if they are as close as they claimed to success, the world is about to change." he didn't thank the fairy Prince thought he was grateful enough to do so. The small investment he had made would turn him from a very rich man into an obscenely wealthy one. But thanking a fairy was becoming beholding to them, and that was a kind of control he would not give the Prince, friendly allies or not. It was enough, that his maker already had that power over him.

"Akira was a fool for stepping out when they are so close to finish. Taking away his contribution would have stopped the project indefinitely. But I knew once you saw the project, you would join in." he cut some of his meat and brought it to his face for examination. Like a man about to taste some exotic food for the first time, which wasn't that far off. "Synthetic blood." mused the fairy. "You are right of course. In the medical field, this is a great advancement. For the humans." he paused as he savored his dinner. "But I wonder if you have thought of the implications of this development for the vampires."

"Yes, I have." answered Eric, before he shook his head. "But it would take more than just cloned blood, for vampire to change their way of life. The way things have been as far back as everyone can remember."

"It won't be easy, I'll give you that. But you would be surprised as to how many of your people are willing to take the risk to try to change the status quo." he raised his glass and pointed with it to the other male. "And you my friend, will have, as the only vampire involved, all the power in the middle of the revolution to come, thanks to me."

"Which is why I'm looking over your hybrid family." countered Eric.

Niall, laughed. "One of these days, boy, I'm going to get that _Thank You_, from you." a low beeping sound from Niall's pocket interrupted their banter. "And that is my cue." said the Prince rueful.

Niall stood up from the table and start to walk away when Eric made him pause by clamping his hand on the Prince's forearm. "You didn't tell me, where exactly is your family? How I am to find them?"

The fairy looked at the vampire directly in the eye. "You always seemed to have a strange connection to the necklace." he murmured. "Follow Brísingamen." and with that he was gone.

Confused, Eric kept himself seated. He wasn't sure what Niall had meant about his connection to Freyja's necklace, but he long ago stopped trying to understand all of the old fairy's eccentricities. As he stood up from the table, the redheaded woman who greeted him at the door came up to him. She was wearing her coat and had her purse in her hands.

"I hope you had a nice dinner, sir." she said, her eyes were suspiciously bright.

"It was fine." he told her.

She didn't move. "I have a message for you. From the gentleman you were dinning with."

Eric cocked his head to the side and crossed his arms on his chest. "Yes."

"He said, to tell you 'Enjoy.'" she bit her lowered lip. "Then, he hugged me."

"Did he now?" he asked with a smirk then inhaled deeply. Immediately the scent of fairy invaded him. "Shall we, then?" he extended his arm to the woman. She blushed, but took his arm.

Though he didn't say it aloud, he did send the Prince mental Thank You's.

It was two hours short of dawn when he finally arrived at his rented house. He hadn't brought the woman to his place, because he didn't trust anyone but his vampire children with that knowledge. Though he had enjoyed himself, it had mostly been the fairy smell imbued on the woman, rather than the woman herself. Taking her blood was a letdown, because it hadn't tasted nearly as good as the Prince's scent.

Thoughts of Niall made him revise his own thoughts on the synthetic blood. After more than a millennium of living in the shadows, having to be careful when he ate so as to not attract attention to himself, he was more than ready for a change. But there were more things to be considered than just that. He really didn't think humans would just openly accept vampires if they decided to come out in the open. In fact, he would be surprised if that didn't induce a witch-hunt so to speak. Humans had the nasty habit of killing things they didn't understand, or things that scared them. He would know he was once a human.

Another thing to be considered was the other supernatural beings. Would they come out in the public if the vampires did? Though vampires were, currently, the most numerous of the supernatural community, they were hardly the only species. What would the rest do if the vampires did embrace the synthetic blood? But repercussions, whether good, bad or both, along with the ultimate decision didn't rest on him. As high as he was in the political ladder, being a sheriff, that kind of situation fell to the International Vampire Association.

_Let them decided the issue._ He thought firmly. Niall was right in one thing, though. As the only vampire involved so far, if they decided to utilize the cloned blood, his power within the vampire nature could only grow. And that, he liked.

Before retiring for the night, he used his laptop to check his mail. He had been gone a long time from his Area, but no one was to blame for that but his Queen. Thankfully, between Maxwell and Indira everything was running smoothly. He wished sometimes that Pam would live in his area. Her, he trusts completely. But she was content to travel the world for now and unless he really needed her, he wasn't going to force his will over her. He thought for a moment of his other child, but her, he couldn't trust with his wallet let alone with his area. It wasn't that she would hurt him, but she certainly would abuse her position as the sheriff's child to make everyone else miserable.

Shaking thoughts of his children away, Eric focused on Maxwell's latest e-mail. _Salome called; she wanted to discuss a business proposition. _He smiled at that, Salome's propositions were always pleasurable._ Liam, Malcolm and Diane, wants to file a complaint against Thalia. _If the three of them were idiots enough to pursue the matter, he was going to chain them with silver. He told them to leave the tiny woman alone. She was older than him and the oldest of the three moronic vampires wasn't even a hundred and fifty years old. _The Queen was sending Bubba to the Area for the next three months. _He needed to come up with easy tasks for the once larger than life now slow vampire_. Bubba himself was requesting cats. Liam had gotten sloppy and was caught on video feeding. _Eric scowled; Liam was the oldest of the three. _Christine Larrabee was opening a youth center for supe teenagers. She was looking for sponsors and is requesting a meeting._ _Calvin Norris sent the invitation to his wedding. _The last part of the e-mail was Maxwell asking when he was going back to the Area.

It didn't take him long to composed a response. He would call Salome as soon as he could, and he would give Bubba some busywork, but Maxwell was to round up all the cats he could find. He would deal directly with Liam, Malcolm and Diane, and he hoped that the video had been confiscated and the person that recorded it dealt with before he could talk. He would contact Christine Larrabee, directly to hear her pitch but he needed to keep the weres happy so he already decided to sponsor the center. He wasn't going to be back in time for the wedding but either Maxwell or Indira had to go in his place, offer apologies for his absent and send the new bride a gift. It wouldn't do to offend the werepanther pack-master. He finished the missive by saying that he would be back as soon as the Queen's errands had been complete.

While he was in his light-tight resting place waiting for sunrise so he would die for the day, he thought of Niall and his request, of his casual disregard of the necklace that was part of his heritage. After the sun was up and he was dead until dark, he dreamed, like he did once every few centuries. He dreamed of battlefield cries, of sweat and blood. He dreamed of his children; of their small compact bodies, following him around the village, climbing all over him like he was a toy. Calling out to him.

When he woke that night, he could feel the phantom echo of a beating heart. A heart that had been dead longer than he was ever alive.

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><p><strong>AN(2):<strong> Starting next chapter, there is going to be a big jump in the timeline. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter.

Questions, comments, concerns are more than welcomes. Come on, I don't bite... unless you ask me nicely.


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